Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"A new morning comes, one of hope! It's Natsuki Subaru's big dayyyyyy…!" Subaru stood up with excitement, striking a weird pose on the bed.

"Wait, what?! Why are you two here? I feel so much shame… please say something!"

Subaru didn't expect the twins to be in his room. He started blushing while trying to hide himself under his covers.

"Nee-sama Nee-sama, our guest seems completely lost."

"Rem Rem, he seems to have something wrong with his head."

The sisters spoke in perfect coordination.

"Guest? You're joking, right? It isn't very funny." Subaru responded, laughing lightly.

"Also, Ram aren't you a bit harsh with me! What do you mean I have something wro-"

In the middle of his sentence, Subaru cast his eyes down to his hands

"Huh… My injuries are… gone… why… why are they gone?"

A terrified look appeared on his face. He cast his gaze rapidly between the two maids, desperately seeking an explanation, but there was nothing. They didn't seem to be joking.

"Why… Why did I return?"

"Mister Guest, Mister Guest you look pale, are you okay?"

"Mister Guest, Mister Guest, does your tummy ache? Or did you lose control of your bladder?"

Subaru began to breathe heavily.

"Did you really forget me…? No one remembers me…?"

The sisters began to look at each other, each wearing a questioning expression.

"Mister Guest."

They both spoke simultaneously.

Subaru, unwilling to accept the reality he was confronted with, stumbled out of the bed and began moving unsteadily towards the door.

"Mister Guest, please move cautiously. You were severely injured-"

Subaru, unable to handle the loss of his fledgling relationships, fled from the room.

Ram watched the strange boy sprint out of the room, mildly shocked.

'What? Why did he just run out of the room?'

"Nee-sama, should I retrieve him?" Rem spoke with a determined tone, glaring daggers, or in her case, morning-stars, at the open door the boy had fled through. Ram could tell her sister had identified him as a potential threat, and spoke quickly to de-escalate the situation.

"No Rem. He has nowhere to go. I am sure he just feels confused- he was gravely injured yesterday. Rather, we should alert Emilia-sama- she may be able to help. I am sure she can calm him down."

Ram, fighting through the ever-present headache plaguing her, belatedly took note of something odd the boy had said.

'What was that about us not remembering him? He didn't look like he was lying, but more importantly, he knew my name… Did Emilia-sama tell him? When would she have done that? I should ask her to be sure.'

"As expected of Nee-sama. She always knows what to do."

"Emilia-sama, I am sorry to inform you that our guest escaped his room just after waking up. He seemed somewhat confused. I am hoping you can help us find him- I don't think he went too far. We would have pursued him, but he seemed disturbed by our presence. I don't believe he will listen to either Rem or myself. In his state, you are likely the only one he would listen to."

Ram spoke in a calm tone, with Rem at her side, explaining the situation to the half-elf her master was sponsoring for the throne.

"What? H-he escaped? How? Where…"

She watched the half-elf pause, distressed. Pathetic. She waited, patiently, for a proper response.

"Mmmhm… Of course. I will begin searching for him… I have to find him."

Emilia turned on her heels and headed for the door on the far side of the room, covering the substantial distance in mere moments.

"Emilia-sama. Before you go…"

Ram spoke up, attempting to get her attention.

'I should have led with that. It is too early in the morning for me to be dealing with this.'

The half-elf stopped abruptly, tilting her head questioningly as she turned back towards maid, clearly in a hurry to locate their guest. Ram considered her words carefully. Despite being past noon, it was, indeed, far too early to be dealing with this.

"Did you tell our guest anything about the mansion? This might help us find him faster."

"Oh… no… I didn't have the occasion to talk to him much at all. He seemed to be looking for my insignia when I came across him in the loot house during my search. After he saved me from Elsa's attack, he barely had time to ask for my name before he collapsed from his wounds. It… was strange though. He was acting like he knew me already- he even knew Puck and called out to him to protect me. Truly a strange person… Anyway, sorry, but I must go looking for him! He was hurt saving me, I can't…"

Emilia spoke quickly, before trailing off and gliding out of the room. Despite moving as though she was walking, she nevertheless was out the door before Ram could blink. She had never heard someone speak that rapidly before. It would have been impressive, except the person in question was the half-elf, who was very much not impressive.

'Like he already knew you, huh? Is he some kind of spy from another camp? Or perhaps he is part of the Witch Cult? Rem told me he smells of the Witch's miasma, but… He doesn't seem like one of them. Despite his bizarre behavior, he seems too much of an idiot to be a cultist. he also leaked information far too easily to be any sort of spy. Who could such an imbecile be, then? Maybe…'

"Rem. Don't do anything to him. I will keep an eye on him- I have to make sure of something."

Ram spoke evenly, attempting to project confidence to her somewhat impulsive sister.

"But Nee-sam… No, you are right. I believe in Nee-sama. As expected of you, Nee-sama- you can do everything."

Ram couldn't help but feel as though this fool would bring nothing but trouble. It was, indeed, far too early for her to be dealing with this.

Chapter Text

"Expressss your wishhhhes!"

Roswaal spoke with his usual antics.

Subaru stood up from his seat, and while looking at nothing in particular, exclaimed his desire as enthusiastically as he could muster.

"I only have one request, and it's to work at this mansion!"

An awkward silence hung in the air. She sneezed.

"*Hiku*"

The silence continued to hang.

She could not fathom what his angle could possibly be. They had finished eating, and had started the process of bringing their new co-worker up to speed.

'That's a weird decision to make. What is he trying to achieve? He could have asked for money, or to live here as a permanent resident, but he decided to work here instead? Perhaps he wants to use his role as a butler to investigate something while avoiding our suspicions, but the imbecile doesn't appear to be smart enough to do that. If he is a spy, he is an utterly incompetent one… pathetic. Even Rem is getting suspicious of him despite my warnings. I have to get her away from him before she takes matters into her own hands.'

"Nee-sama, we should go find him a uniform first. Let's choose one together."

"Rem, I doubt we will find one for him. He is short and has small shoulders- truly a pathetic man. I will take his measurements and will give you the uniform to tailor later. You should begin preparations for dinner, we can't get behind schedule because of his incompetence."

"Understood. Nee-sama truly thinks about everything!" Rem replied, a massive smile on her face.

'I have to keep an eye on him. I also can't let Rem close to him. Given his utter lack of tact or discretion, she is beginning to notice his even more suspicious behaviors.'

"Barusu. Come here. I will show you around the mansion."

"Ok, Nee-sama but how about my cool butler uniform? Wearing it will probably give me the stat boosts I need, since I got isekaied without any decent gear."

"Barusu. For your butler uniform, I don't think we have one of your size. Only women's clothes would fit you, you pathetic excuse of a man."

'What nonsense is this fool spewing? What does he mean by 'got isekaied'. I have never heard that word before. Is he a foreigner? Perhaps it refers to some sort of magic or curse. He talked about needing 'stat boosts', so maybe he is just telling me his gate is damaged in some bizarre slang? 'Boosts' implies something about power or strength, but I also don't know what he means by 'stats'… I am probably giving his words too much thought. They are closer to the ramblings of a delusional child. He is truly a confusing sight…'

She sighed. It was, still, too early to be dealing with this.

"Nee-sama why are you sighing? Why am I feeling like I dropped in your esteem?"

She raised an eyebrow as she watched a strange, brittle expression crack across his face, before almost immediately sealing back up into a foolish looking grin. Had she not had absolute confidence in her visual acuity, she would have questioned whether the event had occurred at all.

"Please don't do that, I need to regain my social-links! And what's with turning my name into a blinding curse?!"

Ram, seeing him beginning to complain again, began walking towards the door with a deadpan expression. None of this was amusing. She had work to… not do.

Finishing listing his complaints, he noticed she had walked off while he was absorbed in his whining. Subaru ran through the corridor to catch up to her.

"Nee-sama you are horrible! You let me talk alone!"

'That look in his eyes... Wait. Regain what, now?'

The tour was not going well.

"So this is the primary guest room."

"So here are the baths."

"So here is the kitchen."

She sighed.

'He isn't even hiding the fact that he knows those locations already. Truly a pitiful liar… no, he isn't actually attempting to lie, so that would be an insult to liars everywhere. Rem would have probably killed him by now.'

"Are you okay Nee-sama? You seem tired."

She ignored him. Such a moron did not deserve a response from her. She continued the pointless motions of showing him the places he already seemed to know.

"So here is the storage room."

"Don't ignore me, Nee-sama… You are too harsh on your junior!"

"And here on the wall is the list of all the ingredients left in the pantry. Here is your first test. Barusu. Look at it and tell me what we need to buy."

"Uhh… tomatoes?"

'What? Tomatoes? Can he not pronounce the names of common vegetables?'

The moron gave a moronic response- what a pathetic performance. She wasn't surprised in the slightest, but that didn't mean she couldn't be disappointed. She sighed.

"What even is that? Can you take this seriously? It's as if…"

She paused. He couldn't be even more moronic than she already thought he was, could he?

"Barusu. Do you even know how to read?"

Ram spoke bluntly, unable to keep her surprised expression suppressed.

"Ummm… I don't know how to read this language very well yet, I only started learning a few days ago, but I know how to read Japanese..."

'What.'

"Don't look at me like that, Nee-sama! I'm not dumb!"

"What nonsense is that? Stop lying. Barusu. You should feel ashamed of yourself. A servant of Roswaal-sama who doesn't know how to read… truly miserable. From now on you will have tutoring lessons with me. I will teach you how to read and write. Be grateful."

'That way I can keep monitoring him all day. I am sure I am close to finding out his secret. I also should keep this Japanese thing in mind. How has he lived here without knowing the language? Yet, he claims he just started learning…'

"Huh… thank you, I guess."

"See, you can answer without complaining. Good dog."

"What did you say? …Wait, Nee-sama, are you actually trying to tame m-"

Before Subaru could finish his disgusting sentence, Ram walked out of the kitchen.

Ram had had a long day, and it still was not over.

"Let's begin with children's stories. These should be suitable for both your capabilities and your age. I will help you study every night."

"Why are you being this kind? It can't only be to make up for Ros-chi's reputation."

"Don't ever disrespect Roswaal-sama like that."

Ram spoke with as much bile she could muster at that moment. Bolstered by her mounting irritation and worsening headache, the look should have rendered the boy speechless in fear as he gazes upon the visage of the physical incarnation of the Oni-

"Ok, ok… Sorry, Nee-sama. I didn't mean anything by it."

Subaru responded after only a moment's pause, apparently unintimidated, surprising her. She got the distinct impression he was more concerned with a 'loss of esteem' than the murderous aura she was sure she was projecting.

'How... No matter. I must be tired.'

"...Very well. In any case, it's obvious. It is in my best interest. If you were literate, you could be assigned additional work. If your work load increases, mine decreases, and if my work load decreases, Rem's work load decreases, too. That would be ideal. Thus, I tolerate educating you."

"Oh, that makes- oi wait, wouldn't I be overworked then!?"

"We will begin with i-glyphs."

"Nee-sama is ignoring me again! It's pretty difficult to take this kind of abuse…"

"Then stop complaining and begin working. It is late. You need to wake up early tomorrow... and I am sleepy."

"You are showing your true face, not that I dislike that, senpai."

"Ram also thinks that Ram's honesty is one of her best qualities. Now begin, Barusu."

Subaru had also had a long day, but for entirely different reasons.

"After focusing so much I think I will get sick but… how to say it… What you told me made me happy. I thought for sure you didn't like me this time. I will surely bother a little more, but I will do my best…"

Subaru turning his head was surprised to see Ram sleeping soundly.

"Seriously?!"

'I can't believe she is sleeping while I have been working! All of what I said went to waste! She really doesn't let me complain, does she… Looking at her like that you would forget that only insults come from her mouth, but I guess I'm already used to that. Nee-sama is truly amazi... wait, am I being tamed!? It's working, what magic did she cast on me noo…'

Ram's plan of faking falling asleep had gone off without a hitch.

'After his feeble involuntary monologue, what is he going to do? Now that I am sleeping, it's the perfect moment for him to enact his plans.'

She heard him sigh, shuffle out of his seat, and move towards the other end of the room.

'I knew it he is heading to his closet! Did he hide something? What is he doing? I can hear him searching for something… wait why is it dark all of a sudden?'

She felt fabric drape over her body.

'Did he… cover me? Why? That was the perfect opportunity for him to attack. Did he figure out that I am not sleeping? No. Impossible. He isn't that attentive.'

She heard Subaru sit down and place his back against the bed.

"You aren't listening right now and that's probably why I can say this but… sorry for all the trouble I caused you. I am super thankful for giving me a place to live, and an opportunity to do something with my life… You know, for most of my life I have been a good for nothing shut-in. I didn't do anything productive. Yet here I am, getting a job and learning new stuff all day… I don't know if it's your intention to teach me to be grateful for my life and to not complain all the time, or if it is just you being mean to me. Maybe both."

He chuckled softly.

"But anyway. Thank you for everything up until now. These few days have been awesome, and I am still just beginning to understand the chance I have here. I'm finally looking forward to the future."

That was not what she had expected to hear.

'Maybe… maybe he isn't as bad as I thought. He seems sincere. I don't sense him lying- is he just some lost boy? He seems to be making a legitimate effort to do a decent job. More importantly, what does he mean by few days? And 'this time'? He just arrived last night. Should I also teach him how to speak...?'

Her thoughts were interrupted by light snoring from beside the bed.

'Oh, the fool fell asleep… no spy or cultist would do that in front of their target. I too, am feeling drowsy…'

Several days had elapsed in the manor. Several. Long. Days.

"Nee-sama are you sleeping again- what's with that? It's always the same thing. I had all my mana drained when Puck tried to show me magic, you know, and I'd really like to sleep on my bed again? You don't seem to have any shame when it comes to that."

'He is still complaining… and I thought he learned his lesson. I should punish him more. He does seem to improve when I do that. Disgusting. There is still work to d-'

An awful, awful feeling flooded her thoughts. She bolted up from her fake slumber, and ran towards her sister's room, startling Subaru as she pushed past his chair and accidentally knocked him to the ground. He was very much not the priority.

"REM! Rem! Rem… What's happening to you- are you alright?!"

She called out down the hallway towards her sister's room as she ran. There was no response. The fool had evidently gotten up and followed her, because she heard him yell after her.

"Ram! What's happening?!"

Ram had neither the time nor inclination to explain herself to a moron who was incapable of understanding context clues. She rushed to Rem's room, covering the remaining distance even faster as she finally got into stride. She could hear Subaru's pathetic panting from behind her, trying to catch up. She continued calling her sister's name as she ripped open the door, damaging the hinges, to find a sleeping Rem. Though there was no sign of an intruder or a physical struggle-

"Her mana is almost completely drained. Rem! Rem, answer me!"

She tried in vain to wake her up.

"Ram, I am calling everyone."

Saying that, Subaru rushed out of the room, leaving Ram with her comatose sister.

"She seems to be cursed, I suppose."

"Cursed? What do you mean, cursed!? How did that happen to my sister!? How do we cure her!?"

She lost her composure, wailing and pleading with the impassive spirit and gently smiling lord of the manor.

"HOW DO WE CURE HER?! HELP HER BEATRICE-SAMA! ROSWAAL-SAMA, PLEASE HELP MY SISTER!"

"I am unable to cure her, in fact."

Impossible. She fell to her knees at the side of Rem's bed.

"...even Beatrice-sama…"

"Calm down, I suppose. I may not be able to lift the curse, but she isn't dead yet, in fact. I can still slow the effects."

"How much time does she have?"

Subaru spoke up from behind her, his voice serious- something she hadn't heard from him before.

"About a week, in fact. Though that is not all, I suppose. To slow it, I need a source of mana to infuse into her. My own reserve is-"

"I can do that!"

Emilia piped up, trying to help- too clueless to see that interrupting the Great Spirit of Yin was an absolutely terrible idea.

"But that's just for a week, it isn't a cure! There has got to be something- there must be something we can do to save my sister, right?!"

"Killing the shammmman, yesss?"

Roswaal spoke insultingly slowly, stressing his verbal tic farther than she had ever heard before.

"As Roswaal said, the only solution is to kill the shaman who cast the curse, I suppose."

"Buuuutt the queeesttiiioonn is whhhoo isss the shamannn. Ittsss reeallly quuuiiite the coooooincidence that sheee is cuurrreessdd the same weeeeek we have a neeeew recruiiit… issss it nooot, Suuuuubaruuuuu-kuuuuuuuun?"

The clown addressed Subaru with one eye closed, ennunciating and stretching each part of the boy's name until Ram swore she could hear something snap, the accusation practically dripping off the Lord's tounge.

"... Subaru? It can not be him. Subaru is a good boy."

Emilia initially spoke with certainty, but then upon seeing how stressed and upset the butler was at the accusation in her peripheral vision, turned and questioned him directly- head cocked to the side in confusion and concern.

"Right? Do you know something, Subaru?"

Emilia, either lacking the intuition to see through this... whatever this was, or too stressed to think clearly, had played right into Roswaal's hand. Ram watched Subaru's soul practically crumble apart under the half-elf's gaze, his face draining further of blood than she thought possible for a living being.

"... I…"

The boy was clearly not a Shaman. That would be an insult to Shaman's everywhere- making such a pointless accusation to sow discord and stress the fool out to the point where he is unable to defend himself was one of the least productive things she could imagine Roswaal doing. Why would he waste time they didn't have?

"It's not him. I was with Barusu all week- he may be suspicious, but I don't think he is the direct cause of the curse."

Ram spoke seriously, shutting down that pointless line of inquiry.  She watched Emilia shake her head slightly as she seemed to regain her wits, brow furrowed as she thought thoughts Ram didn't care to speculate on. Instead, Ram snapped her gaze away and focused entirely on Roswaal's visage. They didn't have time to squander on introspection, and the situation was dire enough to justify toeing the line regarding proper conversational etiquette between a maid and her lord.

"Roswaal-sama. Please help us- please help Rem. Help us find the shaman…"

Pleading pathetically was not something the reincarnation of the Oni God wanted to do, but for her sister, she would do anything. She dried her tears on her sleeve. If they were to catch the culprit, she needed to pull herself together.

"Saddllyy I caan't doooo that, you seee. I have quuuuuuuite the immpoortant meeting tomorrow, it simply caaaan't be rescheduled. I woooould go as faaaaaar to say that I am faaaaaaated to attend. Hoooowever, you maaaaay doooo as you wiiiiish- I give yoooou permiiiiiission to seeeeearch for the shaaaaman," Roswaal intonned matter-of-factly, as though he was discussing changes to the shape of the hedges visible outside the window rather than matters of life and death.

The room quieted. Even the normally impassive Beatrice seemed disturbed at Roswaal's complete lack of interest in helping save one of the employees in his care.

'What. What is he saying? Is Rem's life really less important than the gospel's instructions? Aren't we both crucial to his plans anyway? If not out of compassion, at least…'

More time passed. The clown maintained his gentle smile as he aimed his one open eye towards her.

'Ha. I should have known that he only cares about his one goal. We are only disposable tools in his eyes… why did I think… fine. That makes things clearer.''

Ram stood up from the ground near Rem's bed. Her fists slightly, but very perceptibly, shaking.

"I will go find the shaman, and kill him. Emilia-sama. Beatrice-sama. Please take care of my sister."

She spoke with as much determination she could muster while she glared down Roswaal.

Both Beatrice and Emilia nodded- the atmosphere of the room suddenly tense and almost supernaturally cold.

'The half-elf is distressed as well? But why-'

"Wait! Ram…"

"What. What do you want Barusu? I don't have time for-"

"Let me come with you. I promise I can help."

'...Pathetic.'

She shook slightly, unable to determine just who that thought was directed towards. The room fell silent again as Ram aimed an intense gaze at Subaru for a few seconds. Finally, speaking in a small voice she hadn't heard leave her mouth in years, she responded.

"...Fine."

Chapter Text

'Wait, was it really that easy? I at least expected her to protest it a little. Maybe I grew close enough in these few days?'

"I swear I will be useful to you, Ram," Subaru responded forcefully, facing her with a determined expression- attempting to strike a balance between enthusiasm and seriousness.

"Wait at the entrance, I'll go gather the necessary items"

'I also want to get stuff, but I don't feel like I am allowed to speak now.'

"Understood."

After waiting a few minutes in the foyer, Ram returned. Not sparing him even a glance, she pushed open the double doors and set out with a comically oversized backpack slung across her lithe shoulders. He refrained from commenting, and quickly followed after her. He got the distinct impression that now was not the time for jokes.

The forest road was dark, only the dim glow of the crescent moon lighting the path ahead. Subaru followed Ram as she walked, at least a few meters behind at all times. His lacking night vision forced him to move with much more caution than his pink-haired superior.

"Ram, do you want me to help you? I could take half that stuff, at least."

She ignored him, not even bothering to insult his weakness like she typically did when he offered to carry something.

"Ram, can you stop being mean to me? This is a serious situation, I know you-"

"This should be far enough," said Ram, in a cold voice.

"What do you- Ah! kh-"

In a split-second, Ram went from walking ahead of him to grabbing him by the collar. He barely had time to comprehend the sudden hostility before she whipped around and pinned him against a nearby tree, knocking the wind out of him. The force and speed of her movements caused the surrounding area to reverberate with a loud 'crack' upon his collision, and he choked out a pained cry. How his ribs were not broken, he did not know.

'Damn it, that hurts! Why did she do that?! I didn't do anything!'

"WHY!" Ram, full of rage, shouted in Subaru's face. "WHY DID YOU COME WITH ME?! ANSWER ME!"

'Why? What does she mean, why!?'

Subaru, struggling to breath and baffled by the turn of events, was barely able to croak a response. "I… I just… I just want to help Rem, why are you-"

"LIAR! You barely spoke to her! I made sure that both of you didn't meet!"

'Wait, what? What does she mean?'

"You can't trick me with your clueless act! Why? It's because you are suspicious!"

"W-Wh… What do you mean?! I'm only trying my best here! I didn't do anything!"

"You 'didn't do anything', huh? Do you actually think that I wouldn't notice all your actions from the day you woke up in this mansion? Everything you did was suspicious!"

'What does she mean? I didn't do anything suspicious these past few days… or did she notice that…?'

"Oh, finally got it through your thick skull, huh? Looks like you figured it out- I noticed everything. The first day when you woke up, you knew my name. How did you know that?"

"It... It was... Emilia who told me."

"Wrong answer. I asked Emilia-sama and she told me that she never told you anything about the mansion or its people. Not only that, but when I took you to tour the rooms, you knew exactly where they were. You already knew the entire layout like the back of your hand! When we were cleaning together, you knew where every item was. When the vase broke you knew exactly where the replacements were. And, even today, you knew the road to the village when I made sure you never left the mansion grounds!"

"I... just... I didn't mean..."

"So, tell me, Subaru, how did you know all of that? Why did you come to this mansion? And why did you come with me tonight? And... and…"

He watched her gaze shift, no longer looking at him, but through him as her rage fueled strength began to fade.

"And even though there is all that evidence against you, why... why can't I distrust you!? Why am I unable to see even a hint of malice in your actions!? Why do I believe in your innocence?!"

Ram suddenly let go of Subaru's collar, allowing him to fall clumsily to the ground. She stumbled a few steps back while holding her face with her hands, before looking towards him through her fingers.

"Tell me why, Subaru! Why did you want to come?! Why did you know all of that!? Why!"

She screamed at him, her voice filled with pain, before she put her hands to her knees, panting- clearly out of breath from her outburst.

'What does she mean…? Ah, so it's like that, huh? I think I know what I have to do.'

"First, I'm sorry that I lied to you," Speaking solemnly, Subaru stood himself up and bowed deeply to Ram.

Ram paused, before she slowly righted and collected herself in turn, regaining her poise and posture while observing Subaru coldly. Thick silence hung in the air as she waited for his next words. Though he could barely make out her impassive expression, it was clearly strained with suppressed emotion. If she was trying to save face after losing control, it hadn't worked very well.

"I didn't come with you to save Rem. Ah… no, I take that back. I did. It's just not my main reason. I… it's just that... I want to help you. Yeah- I want to be useful to you. I want you to share your burdens with me. From the first day I came here, even if it was to keep an eye on me, you helped me- you taught me everything I needed to know. You taught me how to read, write, do basic chores, I can even write short sentences now and peel- I am getting off topic. What I want to say is... I want to help you, Ram. I want you to be able to rely on me, and I want to be relied on."

Subaru gazed into Ram's uncovered right eye, only able to actually see it by the slight glint it picked up from the moon. He awaited an answer.

She sighed, tension evaporating from her as she put her hand to the bridge of her nose.

"You didn't answer the second question," Ram responded dryly, though he could tell her heart wasn't in it.

"Oh... That's a really long story, and I don't think we have enough time. When everything is settled, I will explain everything to you that I can, but it's not something shady… at least I don't think it is. For what it's worth, not only did I not do anything on purpose, it would have been better if nothing happened at all... And I definitely have nothing to do with what's happening right now, okay?"

He flashed a weak thumbs up.

"Do you really think that I will believe you with such a weak excuse?"

'Uh.'

"...Yes?"

"Disgusting. Please go die."

After a few seconds of looking at each other, even if it was barely noticeable in Ram's face, they both smiled.

"Fine. It's a promise then. When everything is settled, you will explain everything, Subaru. And if you miss even one detail, I will castrate you."

Subaru gulped.

'Fuck! She actually looks serious!'

"For this mission, I will grant you the title of assistant, so be grateful."

"Assistant? Wait, what? That's so lame! Not a partner or teammate, or maybe kni…?"

Seeing him begin to complain again, Ram dropped her bag to the ground with a loud 'thump', the impact kicking up dust and making a slight crater in the earth beneath it. She then promptly turned on her heels and continued walking towards the village as if she had not just assaulted him completely unprovoked.

"Be useful and pick up the bag, assistant. My shoulders hurt."

As soon as he took up the bag, groaning under its immense weight, Subaru began jogging after her in an attempt to catch up. He struggled to move his legs under such a massive load.

'Why are all these girls so ridiculously strong?!'

Catching up after a few moments, the pair continued on their way to the village.

Chapter Text

It was past midnight by the time the pair neared the village.

‘That's enough for now, with that I don’t have to worry about him being near Rem. Hmmm. I wasn’t lying when I said I trusted him, but that doesn’t mean I can trust him completely. I am not dumb enough to base my decisions only on intuitions, especially when he admitted that he has something to reveal to me after everything is settled. He said it didn’t have anything to do with what’s happening, but it would be more than foolish of me to rely on his deductions knowing how incompetent he is. He truly is a bother now. I will have to take care of him at the same time.’

“Subaru. Remember that between killing the shaman and saving you, I will choose to kill the shaman. Don’t interfere too much, and be alert at all times.”

“I understand your priorities. I will do my best. And for me, between killing the shaman and saving you, I would save you. The only future I want is one with all my friends alive and well.”

Saying that, Subaru struck a pose, somehow while still jogging, and made a thumbs-up sign with his hand.

'Is that so.'

“Disgusting. Keep those remarks to yourself.”

“So, Ram, what are we gonna do? You have an idea about who the shaman is?”

“When Rem returned from the village this morning, she told me about a ‘cute dog’ she met, and I saw a bite mark on her hand earlier. I can only come to the conclusion that the dog is related to the shaman in some way.”

At this, a horrified look came over Subaru’s face.

‘What? Then does that mean that… I was cursed by that dog in the first loop… and the kids were playing with the dog… so the children… They are in danger! I have to save them!’

“Dammit! This isn't a joke! Lets go, I have a... bad feeling.”

Saying that, Subaru ran faster.

“What do you mean, ‘bad feeling’? Subaru?!”

Upon reaching the village, both Subaru and Ram’s feet rooted themselves to the ground. Their stomachs twisted as the blood drained from their faces. Subaru lost the strength in his legs and he crumpled to his knees, the distorted expression on his face betraying the deep emotions burning through him: sadness, horror, despair, but mostly regret.

What laid upon the ground were the corpses of multiple children. The same kids he had played with in his last loop. Surrounding them were their parents, who were screaming and crying- outpouring all the tears in their bodies at their loss.

“It’s my fault. It’s my fault. It’s my fault, my fault, my fault. I should have known. That was the only option, I should have figured it out. I wasn’t quick enough… I let them die.”

“Subaru.”

“It’s my fault! How didn’t I see this coming? It’s the fourth day- I should have understood sooner! That’s what must have happened! You're right, I am a moron. If I was a little smarter…“

“Subaru.”

“If only I returned to the village sooner- I might have seen it. We could have gotten Beako…“

“Subaru…”

He chuckled.

“I knew it. I knew it! Just when I thought I could finally change. I am still the good-for-nothing NEET who fails at everything. Useless-!”

“... You leave me no choice.”

Had the townspeople been paying attention, they would have heard the loud, dull ‘thump’ of Ram launching Subaru into the air with a kick, followed by an equally loud, equally dull ‘thud’ as he landed several meters away.

Stunned from the impact, and with the air knocked out of his lungs for the second time in the last hour, he didn’t have the presence of mind to register what had just happened.

“Do… Do you really think we have time for this?! I didn’t expect anything from you, yet I am still disappointed. We have no time to waste, yet you fall to the ground and babble uselessly! You are useless. Did you forget your dedication from earlier? Are your words truly this empty?“

Ram looked at Subaru with a complex expression, one he interpreted as a hybrid between disgust and disappointment. How dare she. He struggled to his feet, ignoring the pain- he was bolstered by indignant Wrath. If he could see through the darkness better, he might have noticed the faintest hint of surprise on her face, before she suppressed it with additional disgust.

“What do you mean? Do you not see that? Are you not seeing those children’s corpses?! How… how can you act like that!”

Just as quickly as it came, the wave of Wrath receded, leaving him only with guilt.

“It’s my fault they are like that. If I had– oi!”

Before finishing his sentence, Ram launched herself at him again, aiming a foot square at his chest. He barely had time to move out of the way, earning another unnoticed flash of surprise from his companion.

“What is wrong with you!”

“Don’t dodge, you deserve it! Tell me, Subaru. How is this your fault? Do you have something to share regarding your involvement?”

He stammered uselessly in response.

“No, that's not, no- If I- If I- If I was-”

“Only you… Only you. Stop being such a moron! It’s the Shaman that killed them! This crime is his responsibility, and his responsibility alone. Do you think the world revolves around you? How typical. Following your logic, then it’s my fault, your precious Emilia-tan’s fault, or even those parents’ faults that those children are dead. That’s their job- to protect and care for their children!”

Was she mocking him?

“No, but… but I-“

“You are not a hero Subaru. You are no one special. You are just some weak boy who can’t even read or peel a tato properly. No one expects anything from you. No one will hate you for not being able to save those children- you can’t even save yourself.“

Another wave of Wrath poured into him. She was mocking him.

“Then what am I supposed to do!? Am I supposed to just accept their death like nothing happened? Walk by it unconcerned? I guess I’m just not like y-”

The moment Subaru locked eyes with Ram, his rage again fell away. He could see it now, in the moonlight. If her expression portrayed barely restrained fury, her eyes betrayed her raw, barely restrained grief. She was on the verge of crying, only able to hold her emotions in check by taking them out on him.

“I will tell you what you, no, we are supposed to do. We have to kill the shaman. Not because anyone expects that from us, and not because his crimes are our fault or responsibility, but because we want to. Because we chose to. We are not heroes that have to be perfect, we are just people who would do everything to protect the ones they care about. You took a wound to your gut on such pretenses. So stand up. Get off the ground, Subaru, and instead of looking for an excuse to despair and give up in those you failed to protect, look for a reason to continue in those you still need to protect.”

“But… but what the hell! Wouldn’t that be wrong? If you know you could save someone and fail to, if you can save someone and just don’t, aren’t you responsible for that?”

“Who is the moron who gave you that idea? Knowing you, you probably came to that conclusion yourself. Are you this egotistic to believe you can save every person you meet? Don’t be foolish. Life is about choices, and you have to choose your fights. You lost this fight, and you didn’t even have an opportunity to make a choice. What, pray tell, are you going to do to save people who are already dead?”

“Sorry… but, I can’t accept that. I can still... I can’t just forget about the children… How could I continue knowing I could have done something… If I don’t save everyone I can, what’s the point of me even being here?! Why am I even here!? How could I continue on without them…”

“You still think that you could have saved them? You think you can save them? You are insane. I am going to tell you what you need to hear, Subaru. Even if you returned to the past, even–“

“No- don’t say it. I don’t want to hear it, you don’t get to say that to me! You have no right-”

“No- you do need to hear it. You have no rights as my subordinate. Even if you knew everything that was going to happen, you wouldn’t be able to save them. Because you are weak. Useless. You don’t even have the strength to save the ones you actually care about, and you want to save children you have never even met? Hah! Don’t make me laugh.“

“No. No… no no no no no. No, I can, and I did, and I will! I do know them! You- you have no idea what you are saying!”

“Ha. I guess it is no use arguing with someone as disgusting and delusional as you. And I thought your words from earlier were sincere. You are a liar and a disappointment, Subaru. Don’t follow me. I am going to save my sister, and I don’t need you and your insanity slowing me down. Have fun in your fantasy playing hero. Leaving me to do the work- pathetic.”

And with that, Ram began walking towards the village chief- the townsfolk oblivious to the argument occurring just out of earshot.

“No… she is wrong. She is wrong. She is wrong! That can’t be true. She is the liar!”

Repeating that endlessly, Subaru began running towards the woods opposite to the village.

He kept running.

And running.

And running…

He didn’t care where. He just needed to be somewhere else.

Until… he reached a cliff.

“Yeah she is wrong… she is wrong! If I jump… if I reset… I can save them. I can save them all! I… I- I can do it! That’s something only I can do!”

Subaru walked towards the cliff edge, but was unable to keep his breathing even, his heart rate spiking. Fear ate into him, consuming his resolve faster than he could reinforce it.

He tried to walk forward but his body became sluggish and heavy. It refused to move past the edge of the cliff. Tears began flowing out of his eyes again.

“I… I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die! I don’t want to start over! But I can save them… I have to save them, she…”

At this moment he heard her harsh voice in his head, berating him.

‘Even if you knew everything that was going to happen, you wouldn’t be able to save them.’

‘You have no right…’

‘You have no rights. You are weak. Useless.’

‘No, that’s… that’s not true…’

‘You don’t even have the strength to save the ones you actually care about.’

‘No, I saved Emilia… and… and I do… I do care…’

‘Ha. Don’t make me laugh.’

He tried to force himself over the cliff edge, but his feet would not budge. He fell backwards.

‘I… I can’t do it. I can’t even take a single step. I can’t do the one thing I am good for!’

‘You are a liar and a disappointment.’

‘Why… why can’t I do it? Why am I not strong enough… it’s just one more step!’

‘Have fun in your fantasy playing hero.’

Something deep within his mind cracked.

“Why… Why am I even here?! Tell me! Tell me why! Why can’t I find the strength I need?! Answer me!“

It was then he heard her voice behind him.

Ram watched the boy walk towards the cliff edge and then collapse back away from it. He kept trying to crawl closer but was unable to do what he seemed desperate to do- willingly die.

‘... I was trying to prove a point, but…’

She heard him begin to sob.

‘Driving him to suicide wasn’t… what I had in mind.’

She had never seen someone behave like this. The boy was insane, or at the very least incredibly damaged.

‘What… happened to you, Subaru?’

Despite the circumstances, she couldn’t help but feel… no, she had priorities. She needed him to cooperate. Him breaking down at every perceived failure was unacceptable. He needed to be set straight.

‘Still. Seems he won’t go through with it. I can salvage this. A carrot to follow the stick.’

“-Answer me!”

She smirked.

“I don’t know about saving the dead, but if you want strength, I can show you how to become stronger. I’ll need something in return- as is customary, of course.”

He was still sobbing. Whatever she had said had far more of an impact than she was expecting. Gone was the enraged, prideful man, and in his place was a broken child.

‘Why?’

“I… I- If you could give me the strength… to do what I need to do… I would do anything. But I have nothing. I’m empty. I haven’t changed at all. I don’t even have any money to give you. I didn't get paid last time either. Can't make it far enough.”

Something clicked in her mind. The strange familiarity he had with people and things he had never laid eyes on. His distorted perception of time. His odd phrases. How he didn’t know things that should be common knowledge. His insistence he should have known things he could not know. The fact that, sometimes, it seemed he did.

‘The witch cult?’

Rem had mentioned his strange scent- the scent of the Witch. Ram had heard about people abducted by the cult, who were experimented on and tortured. If he was such a person, perhaps…

‘Did they do something to him? He acts like he knows of future events… some kind of seer? Prophetic visions? How would he have escaped? He looks… are they unpleasant? Can he even tell between reality and whatever visions he receives? ‘The fourth day’? ‘Something only I can do’? 'Last time'? He seems so confused… Is that why he wants to die? He wants the vision to end, not knowing that it isn’t just a vision? But if he thought it was a vision, he wouldn't have any problems killing himself in it...Working theory… regardless. All the more reason to not allow him to throw his life away.’

“I have no need for money. I want something more valuable than that.“

“What… what could I possibly offer you?”

“Give me your will. Give me your life. Give me everything you have to give… and this demon will make you strong enough to protect the people you care about.”

Subaru paused, momentarily deep in thought.

“Let Nee-sama take care of everything. Be grateful.”

He stopped sobbing, and looked at her strangely. Some glimmer of his recently dispelled determination seemed to return to his eyes.

“I… I... accept.”

“...Good choice, Subaru.”

‘That… that’s it? I reduce him to suicide with petty insults and then he just…gets back up? That’s all he needed to get back up? I was expecting… What are you, Subaru?’

She shook her head. There would be time enough to think later.

“First of all, get off the ground and away from that cliff. A dead Subaru is even more worthless than a living one. I have the perfect plan, and I’ll need you for it.”

Chapter Text

Subaru and Ram proceeded side by side towards the village in somewhat tense silence. Subaru spoke up hesitantly.

“So… um… Ram… how do you plan on making me stronger. Even if I trained for years, I just don’t see ever being able to hold my own in a fight against someone like Elsa. Where I come from, it is physically impossible for people to move that fast.”

Ram, expecting this question, didn’t bother looking towards him and kept walking as she responded.

“I will require you to respect three rules.

Subaru was surprised, it didn't seem he expected her to add rules to the deal.

“First rule:” she said, raising one finger to the air. He gulped.

“You no longer have the right to complain. No matter the subject or the situation, complaining won't get you anywhere. It is a complete waste of time, and I don’t want my time wasted.”

“But…”

As he started to protest, Ram turned her head slightly, aiming a piercing crimson gaze up at him in warning. Subaru immediately apologized.

“Sorry, sorry, won’t happen again.”

“Tsk- useless.”

Not hiding her disappointment, Ram shook her head slightly as she returned her attention to her front. Raising a second finger, she continued speaking.

“Second rule: my orders are absolute. No matter what I ask of you, you will comply. I would have listed this as my first rule, and just ordered you to stop complaining, but your whining was so deeply ingrained into your pathetic nature that I was forced to include such redundancy. Clearly, I was right to do so.”

Seeing Ram again glance back at him, Subaru straightened up. Even the ridiculous weight of the backpack was no match for Ram’s savagery. He momentarily wondered if Ram had just filled the bag with rocks just to mess with him, before Ram’s lingering and continually narrowing gaze caused him to realize she expected a response.

“Understood, Nee-sama.”

Seeing that, Ram again nodded and turned her head back towards the path ahead.

‘He is learning fast, good.'

“Finally- Third Rule: Use your brain in every situation. You don’t seem to use it enough. Don’t waste my time with dumb questions, and try to think for yourself. Of course, if you truly don’t understand something, kindly ask for clarification before your idiocy gets you killed.”

‘Show me what you can do, Subaru.’

“Got it, Nee-sama. Is that all?”

After asking the question, a few seconds of silence followed as Ram suddenly stopped walking.

“Uh… Nee-sama?”

Without looking at him, Ram responded heatedly.

“How much of a moron are you? I not only said that there were three rules to start with, I also specifically noted that the third rule was the final one. And you ask me if there is anything else? As punishment, I will add a fourth rule. I don’t want to hear the word ‘Nee-sama’ coming from your disgusting mouth. You will address me as Ram-sama. Not only am I your superior, I am not your sister. The only person who has the right to call me that is Rem."

“Understood, Ram-sama.”

Hearing that, Ram was unable to fully suppress her smugness from her expression.

“Good. If you respect those conditions, I guarantee you I will grant you the power to protect those you treasure.”

The two of them reached the village, just as dawn broke out over the Mather’s Domain. The children's’ corpses were now covered by a large white tarp- the sun’s rays would never again be greeted by their smiles.

Subaru and Ram wore saddened expressions, but inside Subaru's mind he was strengthening his resolve.

‘I have to become stronger, so things like this never happen again.’

When they reached the middle of the village, a tall, muscular young man accompanied by the village chief approached them. Their grief was tangible, but nonetheless they maintained their composure- their eyes glinted with the faintest of hopes.

“Ram-sama here are the items you requested.”

Saying that, the village chief gestured to the young man next to him, who proceeded to hand a simple, unadorned iron long sword to Subaru and a bag of supplies to Ram.

“Thank you,” Subaru and Ram responded in unison.

After a few seconds of silence, the two workers of the mansion began turning to leave to the forest but were stopped by the village chief, who called out to them in a hesitant voice.

“Ram-sama… I have a request. You already told me you were going to the forest to kill the monster who did that… to… the children,” he paused as his voice cracked, “but there is still one child lost in the forest.”

Saying that, the chief prostrated herself on the ground, and began to beg in a tremoring voice.

“Please save her. She is the last child of this village… If we came to lose her too, I don’t know what I would do.”

The butler and the maid turned around with shocked expressions.

‘There is still a child…? Oh, I remember- the blue-haired one who was caring for the puppy. If she is still alive, we have to…’ thinking that, Subaru glanced over at Ram but quickly damped his own hopes. ‘I can't ask her this. Not after all that was said.’

Ram glanced at Subaru, meeting his eyes for a moment, before turning away and sighing.

‘I guess I have no choice,’ Ram silently resigned to adding yet another task to her ever growing list before speaking aloud.

“I can search for her after I am finished, but remember that my priority is to kill the monster. I value the lives of myself and my assistant over the child’s. Her survival at this point is unlikely, and I will not put myself and my assistant in undue danger over the recovery of what is most likely a corpse.”

Subaru watched as the face of the young man standing by the chief contorted in rage.

‘How can she think of herself before everyone after what happened to the children?! It is the duty of the lord and his retainers to protect us, and they not only failed to do so, but have the gall to speak to us like that?’ His thoughts overwhelming him, the villager started to advance towards Ram, grumbling near silent curses under his breath, but was stopped by the chief’s hand as the old woman climbed slowly to her feet.

Ram, even with her exceptional, magically assisted hearing, could only make out a single word: 'Horrible'.

“Thank you Ram-sama. We will forever be grateful- forgive this young one. He is still impacted by the events.”

“What do you mean?! Can’t you see-”

In the middle of his sentence, he was stopped by the severe look of the chief. The young man stepped back, but continued glaring at Ram and Subaru.

“If that is all, we will be leaving,” Ram responded curtly, and gave a small curtsy, before the two mansion employees proceeded into the forest.

The moment the two were out of earshot, the young man turned to the chief and growled a question at her.

“Chief why did you let her get away with saying that!? Does that child’s life not matter to you?”

The chief glanced at her interlocutor and responded evenly.

“So you really don’t understand?”

“What is there to understand!? They just don’t care about us or what happens to us!”

“No… that’s where you are wrong. Did you not see it in their eyes?”

“What do you mean?”

“The determination they had. Their eyes, especially the girl’s- she has someone important to save. She is willing to lay down her life in pursuit of doing so, and even still she decided to spare some time to help us.”

Hearing the calm explanation, the young man’s heart calmed. He realized his mistake, but questions remained.

“I didn’t see anyone go to the forest. Who could they save? And what exactly is the monster she was talking about, aren’t there just witch beasts?”

While speaking, he recalled their foray into the forest to save the children. They had only found their corpses and were chased back to the village by witch beasts. It was a miracle no one else had been injured.

The village chief’s face darkened more than it already was.

“I asked her about it, but she didn’t want to go further into details… I fear that something darker is hiding in this forest. Pray that they handle it, as otherwise we may have many more corpses to bury and mourn in the coming days.”

Subaru carried the backpack and bags as he walked behind Ram in single file.

‘Should I ask her why she referred to the Shaman as a monster? No. She told me I should use my head… It’s probably not to scare the villagers and bring more rumors about Emilia, so she doesn’t get linked to the attack… Yeah, it’s probably that. But why did she get food if we already have the bag? What’s inside? I swear, it feels like it’s packed with rocks.'

Ram looked back at Subaru and was surprised to find a look she had never seen on him before- he was thinking seriously.

‘Good, let’s see if he can keep that up.’

They reached the border of the forest proper- marked by blue crystals. Subaru looked at them and his face distorted a little in confusion, to which Ram raised her eyebrows slightly in surprise.

‘Why does he look like he has never seen a mana charged crystal before? These things are all over the place. Maybe I had a bit too much hope, he just began using his brain after all. I can’t expect him to guess everything if he is just that clueless.’

Before he could ask a foolish question, Ram started to provide an explanation.

“The entire forest is an ulgarm breeding ground. Those are magic crystals, barrier stones, that Emilia-sama and Roswaal-sama affixed around the border of the village to stop witch beasts from attacking. This crystal here has lost its power…”

Finishing Ram’s sentence, Subaru spoke bitterly.

“Allowing the Shaman to break into the village.”

She nodded.

“Probably. So, about the plan. Earlier when you were crying pathetically, I was detecting the witch beasts in the forest and among them was definitely the Shaman- I found what looked like the puppy Rem described to me. The problem is that there are far too many to confront directly and survive.”

She closed her eyes and sighed in resignation.

“We can’t win against them by force. However, we need only kill the Shaman that cursed Rem, since that is the one that is draining her mana. You see this map here?”

She brought out the hunting map given to her by the village chief. It likely wasn’t the most accurate, but it would have to do. Subaru stepped back in mild alarm.

“Wait, where did you get that from?! You didn’t get it out of the bag, and you don’t have any pockets large enough to carry something like that…”

“What? That is what you are going to focus on? Such a question is dangerously close to a violation of Rule 3. Shut up, come here, and listen. The beasts are dispersed all throughout this area.”

She tugged him back towards her and directed his attention to a circular area about a kilometer deep in the forest.

“In the middle is what I believe to be the Shaman, accompanied by approximately a dozen witch beasts- likely a den or camp of some kind. They are backed up against this ravine face here, so if we place down a semicircle of barrier stones, we can cut off their reinforcements from the front. Since the ulgarms shouldn’t be able to make a jump over the ravine, we should only have to deal with the Shaman and his guardians.”

Subaru glanced over to her as he nodded along, mulling over the situation.‘She thought of this plan in such a short time? Ram is really impressive. I still have a long way to go before I can think like that.'

“Right, so if I understood correctly, the hard part will be staying hidden while we place them.”

“Exactly.”

“And for the crystals, we are taking the ones on the trees!” Subaru said, energetically.

Ram sighed.

“They are in the bag you are carrying, idiot. Removing the barrier stones from around the village when there are hundreds of hungry witch beasts in the forest would be tantamount to murder.”

The two exchanged a glance- Subaru's incredulous expression meeting Ram's ruthless dead-pan.

‘Wait, the bag was actually filled with rocks?!’

‘And here I thought he was finally getting smarter…’

“Let’s go, Subaru.”

About half an hour later, the two had begun to execute Ram’s plan. Subaru was placing a crystal on a tree while carefully looking around, trying to avoid catching a beast’s attention.

‘Twelve down, eight to go-’

His thoughts were interrupted by the alarming sensation of stepping on a tree branch. Before he could take pressure off his foot, a loud ‘crack’ echoed through the forest as the brittle wood snapped under his weight.

The dogs in the area all turned their heads and began converging on Subaru’s position.

Chapter Text

Subaru panicked- he could hear the sound of rustling leaves, snapping underbrush, and the aggressive growling of an unknown but entirely too high number of dogs. The 'witch beasts', as Ram had called them, were approaching far too quickly for him to consider running.

'Think, think, think!'

Subaru hastily surveyed his surroundings, straining his eyes in the dim light of the moon. He had to do something if he wanted to avoid getting eaten alive.

'Yeah, that's probably not a good way to go… Nothing. There's nothing here!'

He redoubled his efforts in desperation. The surrounding terrain was even and relatively featureless- with no places to hide or items he could use to his advantage. It was just him, the trees, a light ground covering of plant life, and vicious beasts lusting after his flesh.

'…unless?'

It was a long shot, but it was better than waiting for death. Subaru looked up, dropped his pack of crystals to the ground, and immediately began climbing the tree he had placed a barrier stone on. Thanking his prior self for taking gym periods seriously, he steadied himself on a sturdy branch high up off the forest floor and tried to conceal himself in the canopy. As he did so, several packs of dogs came into view from various directions, all of them stopping several meters away from the base of the tree.

'That was close,' Subaru thought, looking down at them.

The dogs, still keeping well away from the tree itself, began circling it- furiously sniffing the air and ground as they did so. On occasion, they would glance in the tree's direction and begin to follow what was probably an obvious trail, only to convulse slightly and point their heads back towards the ground- whimpering as they backed away.

'What? Do I smell that bad? I guess dogs do have a good sense of smell…'

After some time, the dogs dispersed, clearly disappointed and frustrated by their lack of a meal. For what were basically magically powered-up wolves, they were surprisingly emotive in a way reminiscent of domesticated dogs. Subaru, shaking slightly from his rush of adrenaline, climbed down from the tree. After carefully looking around him for any sign of danger, he proceeded with his task of placing crystals while keeping a much closer eye on where he was stepping. His frayed nerves kept him on edge for the rest of his hike, though upon reaching its conclusion he let himself relax a little.

"Finally. The last one…" said Subaru, as he placed the final crystal. With a quiet sigh of relief, he began trying to figure out how he would go about locating his-

*Rustle* *Rustle*

Without thinking, he began scrambling up the nearest tree, pushing his fatigued body as hard as he could to escape whatever predator was closing in on him.

'Come on, faster, I can't afford to lose more time! That sound was way too close!'

Urging himself forward, Subaru practically jumped at a nearby branch, stretching his entire body upwards to grasp it before he… didn't.

'Shi-'

He flailed his arms uselessly as he tumbled out of the tree, painfully landing on his ass and back- knocking the wind from him for the third time that night. He struggled to get back on his feet, the dogs a much greater concern than his bruised butt, but failed to do so. His frayed nerves overcame him, and he found himself almost entirely paralyzed in fear. The various noises of beasts approaching him became louder; they couldn't be more than a few meters away.

Subaru reflexively closed his eyes and covered his head with his hands, rolling into a ball in a useless, pathetic attempt to shield himself and preserve his life a few moments longer.

*Rustle* *Rustle*

'I… I don't want… they are going to eat-'

"…"

"…"

When… nothing. The sounds stopped, and he remained alive and without new injuries.

"What? Why didn't…" Subaru, with a confused, yet relived voice, muttered to himself as he opened his eyes and uncurled his body to meet the predators who had inexplicably spared him.

But he wasn't met with dogs. He was met with the figure of Ram standing arms crossed, wearing an expression halfway between disgust and disappointment.

"What are you doing? Idiot…" said Ram, sighing in exasperation.

'Wait, I have to explain, or I will fall lower than I already have in her esteem!'

"To be fair–"

Ram curtly interrupted him as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "You know what, we don't have the time for that, stand up."

The two Roswaal workers quietly crouched down behind a bush to observe the open space ahead of them.

"So, if I count correctly, there are three, four…" muttered Subaru, while squinting his eyes.

"Four dogs and a puppy. It's most likely the Shaman," responded Ram flatly, cutting him off.

"The puppy is a Shaman? Are you sure? He looks pretty weak…"

"I don't remember you being strong enough to underestimate your opponents, Subaru, especially seeing how pathetically you reacted to me earlier."

"I was just… I thought… I guess you are right. So, what's your plan?"

Subaru wanted to complain, but deep inside he knew he was at fault. He truly acted pitifully, and he understood that even if Ram's words were harsh, she was giving good advice. Curling up into a ball and waiting for death was indefensible as a survival tactic. If he wanted to change her impression of him, he had to show her what he was made of, and he knew actions spoke louder than words.

'I have to prove myself. I can't stay as pathetic as I am.'

After a moment of reflection that ended with a sigh, Ram answered, "I will take care of the shaman, and you will take care of the other dogs." Her voice shifted into a tone likely intended to be harsher than it was, "Try not to die. Dragging back your dead body would be bothersome, so it would remain wherever you pathetically fell."

Subaru, seeing an opportunity to prove himself, jumped on it directly.

"I will accept your request! Witness now how Natsuki Subaru slays those stupid dogs in one awesome combo!"

"I just said that you shouldn't underestimate your opponents, and it wasn't a request. I don't remember giving you a say in the matter," rebuked Ram.

'Damn, she can't even let me have my moment of glory.'

"We are not here to get you a moment of glory, we are here to save Rem."

"Wait, did I say that out loud?"

"No, but you are not smart enough to have complex thoughts."

Subaru realized he had been outwitted, and that, once again, she was right. This was not a game. Even if they survived the upcoming encounter, Rem would surely die if they failed to kill the Shaman while they had the chance.

'She always seems to be right. She is stronger, smarter, and cooler than I am… but still. It's because she is so awesome that I can't afford to look pathetic at her side and embarrass her.'

"No matter what you say, I am going to show you what I can do. I am going to show you how cool Natsuki Subaru can be!"

"Shit! Shit, shit, shit!"

'Why did I brag earlier!? These dogs are stronger than I expected, and they are fucking smart!'

Subaru had been pushed back near the edge of the ravine edge by the dogs' coordinated, pack-like maneuvers. While he had, surprisingly, killed two dogs during his slow retreat, another two were still closing in on him. He charged at one, slashing at it with his sword, but his attack was thwarted: the dog he swung at caught the blade in its mouth, bit down on the sword, and refused to let go.

"Stop it, ya damn dog! Let go!"

While Subaru was occupied with the first dog, the second one took the opportunity to attack. Subaru, sensing this, instinctively tried to brandish his sword towards the threat, applying as much force as he could, but the sword remained stuck as the dog merely bit harder and tugged back in response. The dog's paws began to slip and lift off the ground as Subaru desperately tried to free his sword with strength alone, but he quickly realized raw muscle would not be enough. With a loud cry, he changed tactics, and leveraged his position to swing the sword, mutt still attached, like a baseball bat- intending to launch his second-degree grappler at its pack-mate.

*Clank!*

The dog flew at his brother, taking half the sword with him, and landed at the ravine edge as the second dog dashed out of the way.

'I can't believe they broke the sharpest sword!'

"Fucking mutts, you are going to pay for that!" Subaru screamed and charged head on into the dog who broke his sword, forcing him off the cliff with a kick. He turned about to face his final opponent.

"Now it's your turn!"

On the other side of the clearing, the terrain was in tatters. Large voids pot-marked the ground; the material that had existed there repurposed into jagged spikes of rock and thick, earthen walls. Rubble from dozens of hastily erected stone formations littered the ground, and coarse dust filled both the surrounding air and Ram's mouth. She spat a clump of dirt to the ground in disgust as she tried to catch her breath and plan her next move, all the while never taking her increasingly narrowed eyes off the opponent she faced. What had once been a puppy had transformed into a massive monster, which towered over and dwarfed Ram at more than three times her height. She dodged the ulgarm's paw by jumping back; the massive wolf had wounds all over its bulk, but nothing fatal.

'I don't have much mana left, I have to finish this quickly, should I use it? …That would use up all my remaini-, no. I have to save Rem. Every second is precious. I don't have the luxury to think about myself. Rem, wait a little longer- Nee-Sama will definitely save you this ti-'

"Hukk…!"

Ram, lost in her thoughts, and only focusing on her opponent's face, didn't see the ulgram's tail until it hit her on her side. She was thrown away several meters, but immediately stood back up and checked her condition.

'I should be alright. I have one or two broken ribs, but I don't think it managed to curse me, not that it matters.'

"Ha! You won that bout, beast, but Nee-Sama will now show you some pity and remove you from this world, so be grateful," said Ram while wearing a sinister grin.

The ulgarm, sensing the determination in her eyes, went on the defensive. He started creating a dirt wall to shield himself from Ram's onslaught of spells. Ram got into her casting position, and took out her magic wand.

"AL – FU-"

"Come on, now, don't be shy!"

Subaru and the remaining dog had resorted to circling each other, as their initially pitched combat had reached a stalemate. Their eyes locked on one another, and they both knew that any wrong move could prove to be fatal. However, it was clear this state of equilibrium was temporary, and, with narrowing eyes, they came to an unspoken agreement between warriors. Subaru leapt towards the dog, and so did the dog towards Subaru. Neither of them had a complex strategy, both preferring direct combat than any sort of subterfuge. Over the course of the few minutes they had fought, a begrudging respect had formed between them.

The dog clawed at Subaru, but Subaru was faster and dodged to the side. The dog tried to turn his head to attack with a bite, but it was too late: Subaru had already stabbed his stomach with what was left from his sword. The dog fell to the ground, unable to stand given his severe wounds. Gazing down at the fallen warrior in front of him, Subaru calmly crossed his arms over his chest.

And then…

"-magnifi- Wait, what the hell am I saying!? Burn in hell, you mangy mutt!"

The bleeding dog looked up at Subaru and attempted to growl in response, but the blood seeping into its throat and lungs caused the sound to resemble more of a high-pitched gurgle than anything threatening. Subaru, meanwhile, gazed at his defeated rival with satisfaction, until he heard a sudden, sharp impact reverberate behind him. He turned his head to see Ram struggling to her feet, clearly in pain, but something else caught his attention. Another pack of witch beasts were coming from the forest and were heading directly towards Ram.

"RAM!" shouted Subaru, as he sprinted towards her.

But she didn't hear him, Ram was completely absorbed in her fight with the massive beast facing her. She was about to unleash her spell when she realized her mistake- her inattention had given the unexpected witch beast reinforcements an opportunity to strike. She saw them bearing down upon her in her peripheral vision, and instinctively knew she had lost the fight before it had even begun.

'What?! Wait… I- I don't have the time to… Rem, I'm-'

It was too late.

"-AHHH!"

Ram, deep in despair, lapsed in focus and screamed as her panic overcame her- ruining her incantation. The aborted spell misfired and fizzled out with uncontrolled energy, sending shock waves through the earth beneath her. As she prepared to meet her end, she felt something slam into her from the side. That something was Subaru.

'-sorry… Wait, why did this idiot… w- wait. What?'

They didn't hit the ground.

The source of her confusion quickly pivoted off of Subaru's irrational behavior and onto the fact that they were still falling.

The shaman's haphazard use of earth magic had destabilized the entire area, and Ram's undirected wind magic had caused the nearby ravine face to completely collapse. Subaru hugged Ram to protect her as they both tumbled down the steep drop-off, bouncing off falling debris and the wall of the ravine alike.

She managed to peek out from Subaru's hold, only to see the ground rapidly approaching.

"FURA!"

Ram unleashed a spell to soften the landing, but it was clear to her that it would not be enough.

They slammed into the rocks below and were blessed with darkness.

Ram opened her eyes slowly, feeling pain throughout her whole body, though she absent-mindedly noted she was unexpectedly warm. The dim orange light filtering in from above indicated it had been at least a few hours, the time likely being late earth time. She tried to move her hands to check her condition, but soon realized that she couldn't move.

Her entire body was enveloped in Subaru's embrace; her arms pinned to her side with unexpected strength.

"Subaru."

She tried to call out to him.

"Subaru… get off m-"

She would have continued what she was going to say but, when she adjusted herself to get a look at his face, she went cold. He wasn't awake, and more importantly, he was bleeding from the side of his head.

'Unacceptable.'

"Subaru!" She spoke loudly and forcefully, attempting to hide the growing tones of panic and worry with volume alone.

'He… protected me but…'

He remained unresponsive. She could tell he was still alive, as she could hear and feel his shallow breathing. She could only hope he would remain that way. With her mana almost completely drained and the boy's grip restraining her movement, if he died, she would remain pinned under both his weight and the rubble surrounding them.

'Why?'

Still wrapped tightly in Subaru's arms, Ram, with sadness and incomprehension clearly audible in her voice, asked "I told you I wouldn't save you why… why did you do that? Why did you save me?"

At this, the boy's eyes fluttered open for a moment. "I… told you… I would… chose…" Subaru whispered, his lips curling into a slight smile as he spoke, before he fell back into unconsciousness. Fortunately, that moment of partial lucidity was just enough for him to relax his hold, allowing Ram the ability to begin extracting herself.

"Disgusting. Remove your filthy hands from my body and die," grumbled Ram to the sleeping boy. She was glad he wasn't awake- at this distance, she wouldn't be able to hide her faint blush.

Chapter Text

Ram continued wrapping Subaru's head with one of the bandages the village chief had handed them in the bag of supplies, coating the cloth in a minuscule amount of a fine, white powder as she worked. They were trapped in a partially collapsed underground tunnel, lit only by faint light streaming in through the similarly collapsed hole they had fallen through. If not for that small mercy, they would have been completely blind in the total darkness.

"Shit! We were so close, and- those damn dogs! I can't believe they got through the barrier, that should have been impossible! We made sure there weren't any gaps!" Subaru hit a nearby wall with his fist, venting part of his poorly restrained frustration.

"You are right, we missed our chance… But mourning the past won't lead us anywhere. We need to focus on the current situation."

"Yeah, you are right… So, where do you think we are? I didn't know you people had a creepy, secret underground- oi oi oi! Hey! Gentle with that!" Subaru flinched and protested Ram's rough treatment of him as she tightened his bandage in a twisted form of admonishment.

"That should do it, and it's Ram-sama for you. I know you have been avoiding saying my name for the last few hours," Ram scoffed before answering with a severe expression. "We are most likely in one of the old mines built by the Mather's family. This region used to contain several highly productive iron and pyroxine mines with extensive tunnel systems like this one, but they were closed roughly three generations ago. I am not privy to the details." As she dusted off old memories, her head tilted back and met the stone behind her with a dull thud, and she let herself slide down into a sitting position against the tunnel wall.

"I see, a mine, huh? So, what do you want to do for now?" asked Subaru, awaiting Ram's instruction.

He looked over at her after she took longer than normal to respond. She wore a thoughtful expression and appeared calm at a glance, but he could tell something was off. She seemed unfocused and distant. He wasn't talking to the usual Ram.

'It's probably the fall. She must still be recovering.'

It wasn't like Subaru himself was feeling all that great, either. The ground giving way beneath him, the vertigo inducing feeling of free-fall, the rumble of crumbling rock: their plummet into the caverns below had been one of the most terrifying things he had experienced in his life. Lives. He really was not cut out for dealing with psychotic assassins, monstrous, curse wielding beasts, or falls from far-too-tall cliffs. He was a shut-in. A NEET. An unworthy, pathetic excuse of a man. As much as he wanted to believe in Ram's promise to help him become stronger, the fact remained that he was little more than a hollow shell, unable to even pretend to maintain the appearances and expectations that came along with being Natsuki Kenichi's son.

Ram's voice broke him out of his thoughts.

"I am going to explore a little. Stay here, and don't do anything reckless. Actually, just don't move at all. Your head is still hurt, and you need to rest," Ram said, in what would pass as her usual tone if he wasn't used to her abusive language and couldn't see the stress etched into her features.

"…."

'What? No insults?'

Subaru gazed at her, surprised, and then smiled. This, of course, brought on the abuse he had come to know.

"What's with that stupid look?"

"You care for me more than you let on, Ram-sama."

Ram stared back at him, and her eyes opened the slightest bit wider. Any darker, and he wouldn't have been able to notice such a slight change in facial expression. A second passed, and she directed her eyes to the floor with a quiet, pained chuckle.

"Hah, don't get full of yourself. You are less important than a cockroach to me."

Ram turned away a hair too quickly, probably to conceal just how little she actually meant what she had said, and began walking purposefully further into the tunnel.

'Wait, how is she going to see anything? Does she have night vision magic or something?'

"Ram!" Subaru called after her- even if he was useless, maybe something he brought wouldn't be.

She turned her head.

"It's dangerous to go alone. Take this," Subaru said with a knowing smile, casually sending an object on a lazy arc towards her with a practiced underhand toss. Ram caught it without issue and gave no further attention to his face. He couldn't help but feel a surge of disappointment and loneliness at her lack of reaction, even if it was an impossibility for her to get such a reference. Shaking the emotions away with practiced ease, he focused on Ram's apparently unaffected hand-eye coordination and tried to derive some semblance of assurance in her condition.

'See? If she caught it that easily, even with how dark it is, she must be alright. I was worried over nothing.'

"What is this?" asked Ram after a moment of uncertainty, proceeding to study the object with faux-disgust in a lame attempt to hide her curiosity.

"It's a, uh, 'metia'. Open it, and it will light the way for you."

Ram flipped open the cell phone and recoiled slightly while sluggishly moving to shield her eyes, startled by the sudden brightness.

"I see… This will do."

Ram then confidently proceeded into the now dimly lit tunnel ahead of her.

Just after she wasn't visible anymore, Subaru lowered himself to the ground into a relaxed cross-legged position, his back protesting the roughly hewn stone he leaned against.

"I wonder what I would do without her."

Ram walked with impeccable posture, befitting of a Mather's maid, through the galleries ahead of her- only the dim light of Subaru's strange metia illuminating her path. Her expression was neutral and collected, nothing unusual, but inside her head, she was anything but.

'-hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it, hold it… ah-'

She suddenly dropped the phone, guttural noises escaping from her throat.

"Blughhhhhhhhh-"

Ram stumbled to the side, slamming her shoulder into the side of the tunnel to keep herself mostly upright, and began throwing up bright red blood and dark, crimson bile. Her body was barely holding itself together. If being depleted of nearly all her mana from the previous fight was not enough of a strain, the injuries she had sustained, internal and external, would ultimately result in her death if she went untreated much longer. She didn't know how she was going to make it through the next several hours, let alone potentially several days of wandering the darkness looking for signs of an exit they would inevitably have to excavate on their own. From what she recalled all recorded entrances to the mines had been 'explosively decommissioned' if the log books she had 'come across' while 'cleaning' in a bout of... resistance... years ago were to be believed. Roswaal had probably let her find them. Not that it mattered now. She didn't need half-remembered old parchment to tell her just how dire their straits were.

She was exhausted- both physically and mentally. Her legs shook, and a coughing fit wracked her body, distracting her from her thoughts. She was grateful for the wall beside her, as its support allowed her the small dignity of not collapsing into the growing pile of her own viscera.

'I can't show him that, especially after what I told him. I have to be strong. I have to save Rem.'

"I-I have to, I have to-" Ram mumbled to herself as she clumsily fumbled around in her pockets searching for a small, purple fruit, which she hurriedly shoved into her mouth.

"Hakkk- gah!"

After another fit of furious coughing, a warm feeling spread through her as the boku fruit activated a small amount of latent mana in her body. While unsustainable, it was that or a pathetic death suffocating in a heap of her own bodily fluids. It was times like these where she almost missed her horn. Almost.

"That… should do it for now."

Ram's expression softened as she regained some of her composure. She picked up the metia and continued exploring.

Subaru had been sitting against the wall for some time now. How long had it been? One hour? Two?

The only thing he knew was that it was close to dusk. He barely remembered regaining consciousness to Ram's desperate attempts at first aid, and he had the vague impression it had been early morning then. He must have been in and out of consciousness for a lot longer than Ram let on, come to think of it. The dim light streaming from the hole they fell through was fading into the burnt orange hues of the setting sun. Ram didn't have the time to tend to him all day given Rem's condition, and he couldn't quite work out why she would have done so. Certainly not out of benevolence, given her earlier claims. What was he going to do, curl into a ball and cry at the 'witch beasts'? Sass them with Legend of Zelda references? She could slice and dice with just the air she breathed, while he was unarmed and probably concussed. Useless beyond being a human shield, as always.

He let the self-depreciation wash over him and then settle back down into the back of his mind as it always did. He could ignore it there. If Ram didn't need him for something, she wouldn't have wasted effort patching him up. He would trust in Ram's judgment- he wasn't smart enough to justify second-guessing her.

Subaru brought his hand to his forehead while he studied the color of the far too distant sky.

'Seems like I'm not bleeding anymore. Hope it doesn't get infected, that'd suck. Would they have antibiotics in a fantasy world? Does magic work on disease? Ram said she used a powder or something, maybe that was a kind of disinfectant. I'll have to ask- wait. More importantly, it's been a pretty long time… I hope nothing happened to Ram. She seemed a bit off- nah, what am I saying, Ram is super strong. If it wasn't for those extra dogs ambushing us, she would have taken out the bossgarm no problem. Her wind magic was so cool… She can definitely handle herself. She's probably just still exploring. Or-'

He looked down, expression darkened, as he recalled things he'd rather have forgotten. In the process, he forgot what he had just convinced himself as he again found himself spiraling into self-loathing.

"Did she leave me, too?"

Something obstructed the continually fading, now red, glow coming from above. He looked up to see Ram, arms crossed, standing over him.

"I don't know about anyone else, but I won't leave you here. You still have a lot of work to do, and I need to get my investment's worth. Stop with this pathetic attitude."

Subaru blinked up at her in genuine surprise, then shook his head to clear it.

"Right. Thank you."

"No need for your pointless thanks. Stand up: we have a problem."

Subaru struggled up from the ground. Beyond mere fatigue, he realized that his legs had gone partially numb after sitting cross-legged on the frigid stone floor. Steadying himself as quickly as possible, so as to not waste any more of Ram's time, he gestured he was alright to walk and the two proceeded down the path, Subaru following close behind Ram's almost too precise footsteps. She began to fill him in what she had discovered.

"This mine is much larger and more complex than I expected. Even after exploring for the last few hours, I have yet to find the end of any given tunnel. It seems each path I pursue leads to at least two more. Ram has not returned empty-handed, however. I, of course, found an interesting place that will serve us well."

"The first part of that sounded kinda bad, but if you found a way forward, that's great! What do you mean by interesting place?" Subaru didn't wait to receive an answer to his question, his attention quickly diverted as he looked at the wall to his right. "And these…" he could see an arrow marked onto the wall pointing ahead, emanating a faint, white glow. He took on an overly exaggerated thinking pose, before holding a finger up in triumph and rapidly answering his own implied question.

"Are so that we don't get lost."

Ram looked back at him for several seconds, before turning forward with a slight huff- unamused with his posturing. Another failed attempt at levity. He had almost felt his artificial enthusiasm deflate under her gaze. Maybe he should save his energy.

"… Yes. The arrows point away from our starting point, and will always be on the 'right' side of the tunnel."

"I see, that's pretty clever…"

They walked in silence for a few minutes, before Subaru couldn't restrain himself any longer. If she was going to destroy his faked morale, maybe she would replace it with something real.

"Hey, Ram, can I ask you something?"

She glanced back at him with a glare.

"Sorry. Ram-sama, may I ask you something?"

"… Go ahead."

"Do you think we can still make it? We are honestly in a pretty tight spot here. The shaman escaped, witch beasts can follow us in here since the barrier broke, nobody knows where we are, and nothing guarantees that Emilia and Beatrice can hold out the whole week."

Ram stopped, and fully turned about- her expression severe and serious.

"I already told you to not ask stupid questions, Subaru."

"But…"

"I am going to save Rem no matter what. That's my duty as her big sister, and nothing, and I mean nothing, will stop me from fulfilling it. Stop asking stupid questions and focus on helping me find an exit."

Subaru's dim eyes lit up in an instant.

"Yeah… yeah! You're right! I'll put my belief in you- a little bit of darkness isn't gonna stop us! Lets gooo!"

Ram gave her best attempt at a smile in response to his now legitimate, if exaggerated enthusiasm, spun about and continued walking. Subaru followed close behind. He pushed aside the part of him that noticed how fragile that smile had been, and how it had instantly evaporated off her face before she had fully turned around.

Subaru and Ram stood at the entrance of a cramped room. A handful of abnormally large tools such as pickaxes and shovels were scattered around haphazardly- many of their wooden handles rotted beyond repair. All of their metal components were either almost completely rusted through, heavily warped, or missing altogether. A similarly large mine cart was stowed in a corner of the room, full of what appeared to be shiny, if somewhat translucent and foggy, crystalline chunks. As Ram slowly panned the light around the room to show it to him, he was struck by how, unlike every other metallic object in sight, there was no obvious problem with the cart's wheels or structure, other than it looking worn down by time.

'Leaving all this behind, with such a nice cart already fully loaded… whoever was working here last was in a hurry to get out.'

He bent down to pick up the most intact tool he could see, a surprisingly long, sturdy looking shovel with one side of its large, broad blade mangled and bent inwards towards the shaft. While the damage rendered it useless for its original purpose, and, as a tool, it looked more like it was designed for someone more like Old Man Rom's giant stature anyway, it seemed intact enough for other, less constructive, tasks. He gave it a few experimental swings and thrusts, testing its balance and weight in his hands.

'It'd suck to be that tall down here in these tunnels. Who thought it would be a good idea to employ giants in this kind of job? Rom would have to practically walk around on his knees to fit in here. I could have sworn the fantasy underground miner trope typically involved dwarves.'

He turned his attention back to his prospective sword replacement, which, stood on its end, was several inches taller than him. He was no expert in medieval weaponry, but if he sharpened and flattened out the undamaged side of the shovel head, and maybe bashed the mangled side into a less inconvenient shape, it could almost pass for a crude, single edged spear. Or some kind of bladed staff. Or perhaps a somewhat short, shapeless poleaxe- it didn't matter. Whatever category the shovel would fall under, with his only other means of self-defense shattered and left behind on the surface, he might as well keep it around. Just in case. He would otherwise be pretty useless in a fight with just his fists and maybe a single cast of Shamak. Even if it was a bit long for use in an enclosed space, it'd be better than nothing. He could either try and break part of the shaft off to shorten it or, more practically, he could just drop it if it ended up getting in the way.

"Subaru, quit swinging that around. This is probably what used to be a supply room- it would stand to reason that spaces like this would be built close to an exit, or at least along a main tunnel."

"And I guess we are camping in here?"

He eyed the mine cart distrustfully, fully anticipating its cargo to be some volatile material prone to exploding. Crystals in fantasy worlds were often used as power sources, and this rule seemed to hold true in this world as well. A massive pile of what were probably magically supercharged rocks in a corner was just asking for trouble.

"Yes, it is getting late. You need to make a fire, and I need to change your bandage, so go gather any pieces we can burn from these tools. We will need to use whatever we can for fuel. Also, grab one of those raw mana crystals- you can use one like a lagmite igniter. Make sure you don't drop or man-handle any with your clumsy sausage-fingers."

"I see, great idea," Subaru responded, unable to keep sarcasm entirely out of his tone. He actually took a bit of pride in how dexterous and steady his hands were. He had no idea if she wasn't talking out of her ass regarding the crystals, and the whole thing sounded unnecessarily dangerous, but he would have faith in Ram- she hadn't let him down yet. There was another question on his mind, however, "What about you? Changing my bandage will take, what, like thirty seconds?"

"I will be supervising you."

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"You are dangerously close to breaking rule number one."

'Damn, I shouldn't have agreed to those rules so easily. It might be like those slave contracts from that isekai I read.'

He chuckled nervously, and got to work. Apparently Ram changing his bandage would be something of a reward for starting the fire.

"Hey, also, uh-"

"You can keep the shovel."

"Nice!"

After a short time spent rummaging around the room with the phone light, Subaru had gathered enough wood from the almost comically oversized tools. After placing them in a pile in the center of the room, he moved over to the mine cart and cautiously plucked a small, dull, reddish looking crystal shard from the top of the pile.

'Red for fire, right?'

He carefully turned about, and approached what would soon hopefully be a small campfire- palming a flat, conveniently shaped stone he had found on the ground in his other hand.

"So, I guess I just use this like a flint and steel- wait! Why are you so far away!?"

Ram had surreptitiously moved over to the far end of the room- the point furthest away from both the mine cart and Subaru.

"Ram found your stench momentarily overwhelming. Changing your bandage may prove problematic."

"Oi oi oi, hold on now, I'm not gonna blow my hand off or anything, right?"

"Just get on with it, we don't have another way to start a fire."

"There's really nothing in that entire bag!? Can't I, like, toss this at the wood instead?"

"If you want to blow the whole room to pieces."

"What do you mean, 'the whole room'!?"

"A slight tap should just make a few sparks."

"How slight is slight!?"

"I would do it myself, but Ram must keep her fingers in pristine condition for potato peeling and adjusting Rem's hair piece."

"I'm gonna die, aren't I."

"Subaru. Rule One. And Rule Two. While you are at it, Rule Three, also."

"Alright, alright. Can I borrow the light?"

She slid it on the ground towards him, unwilling to get any closer than necessary to what Subaru was quickly realizing was, in fact, little more than a chunk of powerful, unrefined, impact-sensitive explosive.

'They use this shit in home appliances!?'

"Don't blow it up. I still need to see."

"Yeah, yeah."

Subaru set the stone down, replacing it in his hand with his phone. He nervously aimed the screen's light at the crystal, and spent a few moments studying it. The shard was dull- he had seen what he guessed were 'pure' fire mana crystals in the mansion when operating the stove, and this didn't hold a candle to them. Dark impurities laced through the crystal's uneven, fractured structure, giving the appearance of something more like a three dimensional, translucent, stained glass art piece upon close inspection. The phone's already diffuse glow refracted chaotically through the glassy, warm-to-the-touch material, casting dim, reddish shafts of light throughout the room. He took note of a precarious looking formation along one of the edges of the crystal, and glanced up at Ram, who continued to provide no instruction.

Rule Three indeed.

He set the phone by his side, aiming the light such that he had a clear view of the edge he was aiming for, and picked up the rock.

"Well, here goes."

After taking a deep breath, he softly tapped the rock into the edge of the crystal, which instantly hissed with heat, becoming almost too hot to hold. He struggled to keep himself from reflexively tossing it away as it glimmered and simmered alarmingly with latent power for a tense few seconds before slowly cooling off. As he watched it fall fully inert once more, he let out a sigh of relief, though this was short-lived. While the shard hadn't exploded, the entire display also hadn't produced a single spark- another attempt was necessary. He adjusted his grip, and tried more of a gentle sliding motion, aiming to skip the stone off the crystal more than strike it directly.

As soon as the stone made contact, a jet of brilliant, blinding light and intense, focused flame shot off the edge of the crystal, before it faded just as quickly as it had appeared. The wood in front of him was now consumed in happy, dancing flames, and his nose was overwhelmed with the smell of ozone. He breathed out, shakily.

'Consumer safety standards be damned, I'm never disrespecting the stove again.'

"H-ha, ha, y-yeah. N-no problem w-whatsoever."

"Indeed. Acceptable work."

He gingerly moved back over to the mine cart, and ever so carefully placed the crystal back amongst its brethren. Scooting quickly back towards the fire, he sat down to admire his handy-work. He hadn't noticed how cold he had felt until the heat of the flames began warming his body.

"Wow, it feels so warm now. That's way nicer than I expected it to be."

"Good. Now, if you are done inflating your own ego, come here. I am changing that bandage before your repulsive odor gets any worse."

She couldn't quite get the last half of her sentence out seriously. Earlier, she had addressed his concerns about infection by enumerating the various medicinal and hygienic properties of the 'medical grade karnago mixture' she had used alongside the bandage. One property she had made special note of was the elimination of all sorts of foul smells for over a day after application.

Subaru moved over to sit in front of Ram, and she moved in close to his face as she worked using the unsteady fire light and comparatively dim phone screen. Close enough, in fact, to cause him to blush. With her expression of obvious disgust clear for him to see, she nonetheless refrained from commenting. He couldn't tell, then, if the disgust was from his face or having to interact with the bloodied bandage she was slowly peeling away from his head. He could tell she was occupied, however, so he didn't ask any questions or make any jokes while he stayed as still as possible- he had rarely seen her this focused. However, he couldn't help but notice the slightest tremor in her hands as she worked.

She finished taking off his dirty bandage, tossing it into the fire as extra kindling, and began using the second and, more importantly, last pristine bandage they had to cover his wound. The supplies in the small medical kit the villagers had scraped together for them were dwindling at an alarming rate, and future bandages would have to be improvised.

"Seems like the wound is closing. You will be fine, as expected as a patient of myself. It will leave a scar, however. Ram is not a miracle worker in these conditions."

"It's fine, I'm just glad to not be bleeding out. Thanks, Ram-sama. I don't really mind scars anyway, I've always thought of them as a mark of a true warrior."

"Thinking that scars make you a true warrior is an insult to true warriors," Ram deadpanned at him while massaging the bridge of her nose. "Strength will come with diligent effort and practice, Subaru, not from monuments to failure and inexperience. And diligence, I daresay, is something you sorely lack."

He stiffened for a split second.

"Should have expected that. Anyway, pass me the food. I'll try to cook it since, uh, these aren't potatoes. Or tatos. Whatever." Subaru shot a glance towards her and countered Ram's insult with a veiled one of his own, unable to fully repress his growing annoyance at both the food name changes and the consistent unironic slights that weren't actually justified. He had begun to develop a resistance to Ram's barbed tongue, at least when she wasn't actively aiming to maim him, however, when her insults weren't in jest or at least partially true, it bothered him more than he cared to admit. Of all the things to accuse him of lacking, diligence wasn't one of them. He was as stubborn as they come- if anything, he was too diligent.  He wouldn't be in this situation in the first place if he wasn't.

Subaru began to cook the small amount of semi-perishable, salted meat that the villagers had mixed in with their food supplies but, for all his internal bluster, he managed to burn the majority of it. Ram made him eat anything he burnt, though he couldn't help but notice her overly broad definition of 'burnt', and felt uncomfortable with how little she ended up actually eating. Once finished, they sat facing each other across the fire, as Ram had moved over to the other side to eat her food. They were both staring at each other, and the ambiance was getting uncomfortable.

"…"

"…"

"Stop looking at me with those pig eyes. You are going to make me puke."

"What!? You're staring right back, don't blame me! And stop lying, no way just my face would make someone puke. Run away, sure but- hey!"

Ram had put her fingers in her mouth, miming an attempt to trigger a gag reflex, though he wasn't sure if she was actually faking it or not.

"Hey, stop that! You can't force yourself to vomit and then blame it all on my face! We also don't have any more food rationed for tonight…"

"Hah," dismissed Ram, gesturing him to calm down with a lazy hand movement. She didn't show it, but she barely managed to stifle down the churning bile in her stomach.

"So, do you want to talk about anything?"

"Yes. Entertain me, assistant."

"I don't like the way you phrased that, but okay- do you have any particular subject in mind?"

"Yes, tell me about your future sight."

"….."

"You are the one who told me you would explain. We have all evening."

'She thinks I'm a fortune-teller or something? In retrospect, I should have expected that- it's totally what it would look like from her perspective. Doesn't change the fact that [Return By Death] is completely useless at the moment, unless she is okay with murdering me and deleting herself from existence. How would she handle the fact that that's happened once already? She really doesn't need to deal with something that messed up right now.'

"Speak. Don't make me wait," Ram said, glowering at him and showing her impatience.

Subaru began scratching the back of his head, trying to mask his nervousness.

"It's not quite that... I don't... I didn't mean whenever you wanted to bring it up, I was more thinking of telling you after we finish our mission…?"

He trailed off, questioningly, hoping she would let it go.

"Don't joke around. We have time now, spit it out. Surely it would be useful for you to explain."

He chuckled nervously.

"Uh, well, you'd think that, but... what about my home country, Ram-sama? You've seen our writing before, right?"

"Home country…" Ram's scowl turned to an expression of surprise and curiosity, though she quickly covered it with one of apathy. "Hah. What a pathetic way to divert the subject. But, as you have referred to me the right way, I will let you go this time, so be grateful."

Subaru let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, don't sigh already, I am merely giving you more time. When we save Rem, you are going to tell me every detail of your ability, and, additionally, you will do my work for the next week. You know what punishment is waiting for you if you don't," said Ram, miming a pair of scissors with two of her fingers while making a snipping motion.

He gulped.

"Uh, I…" He paused, considering if he should temper her expectations, or note that he did her work anyway, before deciding against either course of action and continuing, "-understood, Ram-sama."

What followed was a few hours of Subaru telling stories about the cultures and technologies of his world, avoiding bringing up the fact that it was, indeed, an entirely different world, and not just some far-off place she somehow hadn't heard of, while Ram listened with increasing skepticism. She initially insisted she didn't believe anything he was saying, but after showing her some of the pictures of his family and some of the places he had traveled with them, she seemed content to idly ask questions while watching him try to manipulate his shovel into something vaguely resembling a weapon. Better that than a discussion about [Return By Death]. He definitely didn't feel ready to talk about that.

Another hour passed. The campfire was now little more than a pile of smoldering ash, and both Subaru and Ram had fallen into a light, fitful sleep.

Subaru rolled over on the ground, the stone sucking away warmth faster than he could reclaim it from the remains of the fire. This, he realized, was probably one of the main reasons his family, at specifically his mother's insistence, had used insulated pads under their sleeping bags when, years ago, they had gone on the occasional camping trip. He had always thought they were a waste of space, but, clearly, his mom had been on to something.

He felt something move near him, and he opened his eyes to a small, shiny light flying around him.

*Come with me.*

'What. What's with that? Looks kinda like one of the spirits Emilia talks to, but…'

"What are you, and what do you want?" Subaru apprehensively questioned the interloper as quietly as he could manage, earnestly trying to avoid waking Ram. They needed what little sleep they could get, and waking her up over what seemed to be a glowing, sentient bubble was probably unnecessary. This was a fantasy world after all, this shit probably happened all the time. It wasn't like the weird stuff just happened to him. Right?

Subaru narrowed his eyes, tracking the presumed spirit as it circled around him.

*Follow me, and I can give you strength.*

"I've read enough manga to know that, with an intro like that, you're totally gonna to try to screw me out of my soul or something. I've already got an agreement like that anyway. Buzz off."

Subaru's nervousness was immediately replaced with annoyance. He rolled over, put his hand below his head, closed his eyes, and tried to ignore the rapidly swaying light inches away from his face.

*Hey, hey- just who do you think I am!?*

The little light projected its tiny, insulted voice directly into Subaru's left ear, despite the fact that it was clearly still floating right in front of him.

Subaru, frustrated, resorted to flailing his arm around in an unfocused attempt to wave it off. The light easily dodged.

"Let me sleep. I'm not falling for your bullshit," he muttered, squinting his already naturally narrow eyes even further to try to intimidate the light into leaving.

The light, realizing the boy wasn't going to listen no matter what it said, slowly retreated from the room.

*Guess I'll try tomorrow…*

Chapter Text

After a rather uncomfortable night on the ground, Subaru took the time to do some of his Radio Calisthenics to loosen up his sore muscles. Ram initially seemed completely disinterested when she had first been introduced to the practice on the grounds of the manor, and had spent most of their time that day insulting what she described as 'clown movements' whilst she followed him around 'supervising' his butler training. In the dim light of his currently half-brightness phone screen, however, he could see her discretely doing some stretches of her own out of the corner of his eye. As he finished up, he decided it was high time he learned what their strategy was going to be for the day.

"So, what are the plans for today, Ram-sama?"

"We will explore parts of the tunnel network I couldn't reach yesterday. We still have a long way to go."

"I was thinking, should we split up so we can explore faster?"

"Do you think you can handle yourself? If you met the shaman again, or even just a normal ulgarm?"

"… No, I guess not."

Subaru looked down and shuffled his feet slightly. Even armed with the recently dubbed 'Shovel-san', given his injuries and fatigue, he wouldn't be able to hold out in a fight for more than a few moments.

"Hah. Pathetic, and you call yourself a man," Ram sighed even as she halfheartedly insulted him, "let's get going, you will be drawing the arrows. That's all I can ask from you, apparently. And quit swinging that thing around, you are going to hurt yourself. Keep quiet, and don't lag behind."

Ram glanced back and threw a chalky, subtly glowing white rock to Subaru as she adjusted her grip on the phone. From what he had seen when he had last checked the phone, they maybe had half of its battery remaining. He hoped they would be able to make it out before their only light source went out for good.

After a few hours spent in near total darkness, and minimal conversation, the pair had, once again, come to a major intersection.

"What kind of mine even is this? It's like they intentionally tried to make it as confusing as possible. Was whoever was in charge getting, like, inverse worker's comp every time one of their miners got lost and died or something? It's bad enough that there aren't any marks anywhere indicating anything, but with this many branching paths… it's gonna take forever to find an exit."

"Stop saying things I already know. I already told you, I will take care of everythin-"

Ram fell against the tunnel wall and broke into a coughing fit.

"Hey… Uh, Ram, are you okay?"

Ram put one hand to her mouth as she staggered, and signaled to Subaru to stay away with her other.

"Its nothin-"

She took her hand from her mouth and used it to start pushing off the wall as she spoke, but she was interrupted by more rough, painful sounding coughs.

"-tsk… I'm fine."

"Are you sure do you need water? It's really dusty down here- wait, holy shit, is that blood!? Are you sure you are okay?"

Subaru caught sight of several dark smears on the wall where she had placed her hand, which stood out against the dull grey stone in the dim, blue tinged light.

"None of your business. Let's go."

Ram fully righted herself, and accelerated the pace.

'Coughing up blood is totally a death flag. Should I stop her, or… I have to believe in her. She told me to believe in her. She is the one who wants to save Rem the most, I don't have the right to interfere. If she says she is fine, she is fine- she just might need Beako or Emilia to patch her up when we make it out of here.'

He glanced at the dark splotches on the wall as he passed. The deep crimson stains picked up and reflected the smallest glint of light from the rapidly receding source. He looked away and pushed onward.

They continued walking, even quieter than before. Only the dull echo of their shoes against the stone reverberating in time with their steps kept note of their progress.

Half a day had passed since they last talked. The pair had fully explored several branches of tunnels, but far more still remained, and the constant discovery of new intersections made the task feel more Sisyphean than anything else. He had mostly kept himself occupied by adjusting the pieces of fabric and rope he had salvaged from an empty bag to lash Shovel-san to his back. Attempting to find a configuration where his new weapon was secure yet still easily drawn, without impeding his movement or posing too much of a hazard if he fell, was quite the task. Despite the welcome distraction, Subaru couldn't avoid the reality that Ram was moving progressively slower the more they walked, and her sluggish steps were becoming increasingly unsteady.

He focused on reassuring himself that things would work out. Even if he offered, Ram wouldn't accept assistance, and he had promised to keep faith in her. Of course, that promise was becoming increasingly difficult to keep. He talked a big game, but he had never been very good about keeping to his commitments.

They reached an especially narrow path, where the hard, grey stone making up the walls transitioned into crumbly, reddish rock that reminded him more of air dried clay, or perhaps the colored dough used as a toy for children, than anything else. Small piles of dusty debris littered the floor- chunks of the soft stone having crumbled away from the ceiling and walls over the years. A strange, rippling pattern ran along the length of the tunnel floor ahead of them, as though someone had taken a massive rake or hoe and gouged deep, parallel lines into the ground as far ahead as he could see. He struggled to walk, stepping carefully to avoid slipping into a trough and twisting his ankle.

Ram advanced boldly, if unsteadily, while keeping herself upright with the support of the wall. He watched her feet teeter precariously as she moved clumsily across the uneven surface.

Subaru followed her. Ram was more familiar with this world's rocks, after all. It would probably be fine.

They proceeded into a section that was, to Subaru at least, clearly and increasingly unstable. Massive, jagged cracks ran along the walls, which had, at some point after their creation, bowed and pushed out into the corridor. Ancient, gnarled roots had long since wormed their way through the ceiling, leaving more than half of the already narrow path completely untraversable- both from large chunks of rock and the roots themselves. With a start, Subaru suddenly realized that the path hadn't originally been hollowed out this narrow. The warped, undulating patterns underfoot, and the outwardly bulging walls gave him the distinct impression that the tunnel was in the process of slowly being squeezed shut by the pressures of the earth. He noticed small puffs of dust and small pebbles tumbling down from the ceiling each time Ram shakily moved forward. With every step, she was stumbling over the distorted surface, arresting her perpetual fall by repeatedly slamming her hand into the wall to momentarily steady herself as she sluggishly proceeded.

She kept walking, and took no notice of the dusty clouds over her head, or the small clumps of chalky rock now drizzling from above.

"Ram-sama."

He called out gently, but he received no response. She tripped, before catching herself and impacting the wall she relied on more harshly than she had previously. The light drizzle of earth from overhead had turned into a steady rain.

"Oi, Ram..."

She didn't respond, though she did stop moving forward, though not for lack of effort. Her legs shook in place, as she tried and failed to drive them onward.

"Ram, hey, maybe-"

She keeled over as her legs gave out completely, tumbling roughly to the floor.

"Oh."

This latest impact seemed to be the final straw. The steady rain escalated into a downpour, with fist sized chunks of rock separating from the ceiling and walls alike to pelt both him and the now collapsed Ram. The already alarmingly bowed wall began to shift, the massive cracks growing- lazily splitting completely open and spreading along the full length of the imploding tunnel. The entire right side of the path ahead started to fold in on itself, as though it was made of a particularly thick dough- now moistened and pliable.

Subaru summoned whatever strength he could muster, and sprinted forward- grabbing Ram by the arm and swinging her over his shoulder, while scooping up their sole light source. Much larger rocks were falling now, and he stumbled as they glanced painfully off his shoulders, though he was kept safe from any truly dangerous strikes by angling forward and using Shovel-san's wide blade to shield his head. He was barely able to avoid the largest of pieces by staying mere moments ahead of the worst of the collapse. Through the dust, he could see the path widen in the distance, hopefully indicating a return to more stable stone, but the wave of destruction nipping at his heels was picking up speed, and he was having trouble keeping pace as it was.

Subaru pushed his legs as fast as he could muster, but his heavy footfalls only served to further destabilize the tunnel section.

'I am not going to make it.'

A large slab of the wall peeled away right beside him and struck him just before he was able to fully get clear, knocking him off balance and prompting him to let loose a howl of pain.

Subaru, as he struggled to avoid passing out from the impact, was overcome by the realization that he was tired. No, not just tired- he was completely and utterly exhausted. He could barely see what he could only hope was safety through both the heavy clouds of dust and his own copious tears. He had strained his gate, and it's immaterial fracturing somehow managed to become more painful in this critical moment, sending a persisting arc of tightly coiled pain through his entire body. His head throbbed, his feet hurt, his back was sore, and he was really, really hungry.

'I can't take much more of this. What's the point anymore? We're totally screwed.'

He barely sustained another harsh hit from the side, only able to stay upright and mobile because, in a stroke of luck, he bounced off what he presumed, no, hoped, were tree roots to his left instead of falling forward.

He struggled to breath as the muscles in his legs began to burn and spasm even as he pushed them ever harder, narrowly avoiding getting pinned under another slab of rocky dough sloughing off of the ceiling.

'Maybe… if I die, the kids- No. No, no, no. I have to save Ram. Focus on Ram. Yeah, what would- right, Rule 3, she told me to think. Yeah, think, think, think- ah.'

It was a long shot, but as it was, they weren't going to make it anyway.

"Sorry, Ram, but you won't like this one!"

With a loud cry over the thundering din of collapse, he swung Ram down from his shoulder to build up some momentum.

"Heave, ho!"

He adjusted his hold to grasp her by the waist, and with another yell flung her forward as far and as fast as he could manage, sending her hurtling through the deluge of earth and hopefully to safety.

Subaru, now with less weight in his hands, put on a final burst of speed, twisting himself sideways while launching himself forward as both the tunnel and his eyes squeezed shut. He felt himself slide, Shovel-san's blade shrieking against the ground as he rolled onto his back, before he came to rest in a pile of dust. He opened his eyes.

"I *pant* did *pant* it. I really *pant* made it! Ha ha *pant* ha! Rocks've got *pant* nothing on me! This time *pant* scissors win!"

Letting himself celebrate his momentary, and likely very temporary survival, he slightly lifted his head to survey the aftermath of what he had just escaped. A large mass of rust colored, chalky, doughy stone was piled up almost to the ceiling of the tunnel. The only thing that remained of the path itself was a small opening right below the ceiling- a hole ironically held open by the very plant roots that had contributed to the collapse in the first place. Or, he hoped they were plant roots. They didn't really look like they were made of plant. He let his head fall back into the dirt and let out the breath he had been holding. He would have passed out from exertion there and then, if not for a thought rushing through his mind.

'Ram! Where is Ram!?'

Subaru gasped in pain as he sat up, but pushed through to desperately cast the cellphone light around until he spotted Ram's body on the ground nearby, limp and unmoving under a small pile of dirt. He stood himself up against the mass protest of his entire corporeal form, and half crawled, half stumbled over to her.

He pushed aside most of the light material and dragged her out from under several larger pieces of earth, brushed her off, and checked her over for injuries. Surprisingly, she didn't seem to have sustained any serious wounds, from what he could tell. Other than a shallow gash running several inches along the skin behind her ear that looked like it would need a bit more attention, all he could find were some scrapes and welts.

She stirred at his touch, letting out a quiet groan.

"Ram… Are you okay?"

He clumsily pulled back as Ram gruffly waved him away, and he watched as she struggled to wrestle her quivering legs into a position where she could even start to get up.

"Hey, let me help you."

He reached out, but she slapped his hand away with a surprising amount of force considering her condition. She paused for a moment, before speaking quietly.

"Don't touch me with your filthy hands."

Subaru ignored her, and reached out again.

Ram glanced up to meet his gaze, a complex emotion written on her face. He couldn't quite figure it out in the dim light before she looked back down and bit her lip, drawing a drop of blood.

"I… I'm fine. I just need some rest. I will take care of everything."

Subaru stared at Ram for a few seconds, not comprehending what she meant. He must be too exhausted to understand what she was saying.

"What… what do you mean? What is there to take care of? We just barely survived. You're scraped up all over, you're bleeding from your head, and you just got pelted by a bunch of rocks, and that was all after you had already collapsed. You clearly aren't fine, I need to check you for a concussion-"

"What would your moronic mind know about me?" she interrupted him, still quiet, though he could feel her intensity even despite her obvious exhaustion. "This is nothing to me. I have to save Rem no matter what. I don't need nor want your pity. Didn't you say you would support me, or are your words just words?"

"I… what… doesn't helping you get up count as sup-"

"Do you not believe in me."

Ram spoke what should have been a question as a statement. She looked up at Subaru, her eyes glittering slightly in the faded blue light with what could have either been slim hope or tears. He found himself absorbed in her expression.

'She's… in awful shape. I'm not sure rest will be enough if we don't find help soon. I told her I would support her, but she doesn't seem to think… I have to believe in her. Yeah, that's right. It's okay to have faith.'

Subaru forced a smile onto his face, and started rubbing the back of his head, hoping to come across as apologetic.

"Right, sorry. I got a bit agitated- one too many rocks upside the head, I guess. I don't know what I was thinking. You're right."

Ram looked at him for a second before turning away, almost whispering her next order as she painfully struggled to her feet while ignoring his still outstretched hand.

"Don't get full of yourself, Subaru. You still can't do anything alone. I will handle the rest, now follow me. We will search for a place to rest."

She gestured for the light, and he passed it over without protest. He followed closely behind as she slowly made her way into the near darkness.

After a short walk, Subaru and Ram reached a small room set roughly into the 'left' side of the tunnel. Subaru marked the final arrow for the day outside what barely passed for an entryway to keep them oriented correctly, and proceeded into the room to help Ram sit down against a wall. He split the last of the waterskins and dry rations with her before moving to the other side of the room to give her space. The ambiance remained as cold as the air while they ate what could very well be their final meal.

"…"

"…"

Subaru knew they were in a bad situation, but Ram was there. She had told him everything would be okay, and she had gotten them this far, recent tunnel collapse aside, so he shouldn't worry too much, right? They had run out of water, sure, but there had to be an underground spring somewhere- no fantasy cave or dungeon was complete without one. And the roots that had damaged the tunnel they had come from implied that there were probably plants around, assuming they were, in fact, roots, and there for sure had to be a mushroom or two somewhere. People eat mushrooms, and Ram might be able to tell if anything he finds is poisonous or not... not that it mattered since they would probably eat them regardless. But putting that aside, even with her injuries, Ram was strong. She'd get up in the morning, and they would both be good to go.

'Where did she get so strong? Even after going all out against the bossgarm and taking all those hits, she's been able to keep pressing forward…'

"I know it's not the best moment to talk, but can you tell me how you gained your strength? Like, how you learned your wind magic and stuff. We talked about me yesterday, so it's only fair to talk about you today, right?"

He shivered, the ground sapping heat from his body faster than he could recoup it. He momentarily wished he had taken a mana stone with him, but with how things had gone earlier, the many hard impacts would have surely would have detonated one no matter how well he wrapped and cushioned it. To sorely miss something as inane as high density foam, packing peanuts, and bubble wrap in these circumstances… the cold must be having more of an impact than he thought.

Ram belatedly eyed Subaru with an annoyed look before sighing in defeat.

"You really are the worst- *hikutchi*"

She sneezed.

"-trying to know this pretty girl's secrets- *hikutchi*"

She sneezed again, though this one was accompanied by a sniffle.

"-…disgusting." Ram tried to joke, but she was too weak to sound convincing. He wasn't exactly sure what she had aimed that last 'disgusting' at.

Ram suddenly started shivering violently, whatever self-control she had been employing to pretend she wasn't actually cold abruptly giving out.

"Hey."

Subaru got up and took off his filthy, now shredded jacket and offered it to her, though he, too, was having a hard time keeping himself steady against the cold.

"I can give you my jacket- *hatchou*"

Now it was his turn to sneeze. It made sense- sneezes were contagious, in a second hand kind of way.

"-you're shivering."

"Keep it on- *hikutchi*"

She sneezed back at him, and wiped her nose with the tattered sleeve of her maid uniform.

"-moron, you are also shivering."

"Yeah, so? My dad always- *hatchou*"

'Dammit.'

"-always said if a lady is cold, you need to offer her your jacket."

"What does your father have to do with this? Those rags you are wearing are probably- *hikutchi*"

"-disgusting. You haven't changed in days- *hikutchi*

'Oh, a double?'

"-filthy."

"We've been stuck down here together! How do you expect me to change!? You don't- *hatchou*"

"-have any spare clothes in your bag, do you?"

After some more back and forth sneezes, the duo decided to share the jacket.

Subaru propped himself up against the wall and had Ram lean back into his chest- this being the only configuration where the jacket could cover both of them. This had already taken no small amount of convincing, and sensing some discomfort from his companion, he started to continue his justification.

"You see-"

"Shut up."

"I was jus-"

"Shut up."

"But its pret-"

"Shut up, or I will kill you."

At this, he wisely responded with an "Ok," though it sounded far meeker than he was aiming for.

A few minutes passed in silence, neither one of them willing to say anything.

Subaru was confused. He didn't understand why, but, despite the cold, he felt warmth inside his heart. He had felt something similar while watching Emilia converse with the spirits during his first loop, but not to this degree. His ears reddened with heat, and his heart rate increased-

"If you don't cut that out, I am going to take matters into my own hands. It's distracting. As expected from a virgin, I guess," said Ram, though it was clear to both of them that she didn't sound the least bit convincing.

"You're one to talk! You're as red as a tomato," balked Subaru, though his awkward delivery undercut the bite of his response.

Ram's body went rigid. She slowly turned her head to meet his eyes with the coldest look she could muster, which, to her own chagrin, was not particularly cold, and said, "It's the cold. And if you talk about this with anyone, you are dead."

"Ok."

"And it's called a tomat, you moron."

"Not where I come from, it isn't! We already have two different competing pronunciations, I don't need a third one that doesn't even use the same spelling."

The mood lifted, and Ram began talking about her early days in the Roswaal mansion and how Roswaal had helped her hone her magic. It was clear she wasn't telling the whole story. It seemed she wanted to avoid discussing how she had actually learned magic in the first place, but considering his avoidance the previous evening, he couldn't blame her. A little smile came to her face every time Roswaal came up, causing Subaru to feel a tug in his heart each time, but he decided to keep quiet about it. He already had enough reasons to dislike Roswaal, so yet another one to avoid thinking about couldn't hurt him that much more. After the conversation lulled, minutes passed in silence, and fatigue finally overcame them.

Subaru awoke in the middle of the night, yet again, to a tiny, buzzing voice in his ear. Had Ram not been sleeping in his lap, he would have cursed, loudly, but he managed to restrain his frustration at being woken up and limit his response to a slow breath through gritted teeth.

*Come with me…*

"You again? I told you, I'm not gonna fall for your crap," Subaru hissed, trying to balance his desire to rip the irritating orb into pieces using words alone with the need to avoid waking Ram. Both of them needed rest. Just because something was harassing him didn't mean he had to disturb his companion as well.

*Just follow me, and you will see something interesting.*

"Do you know how sketchy you sound?"

A note of honest confusion entered Subaru's voice. Despite the irritating presence the light commanded, had it decided to show up and talk with him when Ram was awake, instead of trying to lure him off away from Ram in the middle of what he assumed was the night, he probably would have been open to what the spirit had to say. As it was, it seemed to be doing everything in its power to appear completely untrustworthy. Even considering Puck's obviously unhealthy obsession, and Beatrice's poorly veiled cries for help, at least those two were more or less upfront with what they wanted on a moment to moment basis. In any case, he had learned that any spirit capable of speech was at least moderately powerful- surely even an entity removed almost entirely from the human experience could pick up some social skills somewhere. Every spirit he had met seemed to act like any other eccentric person- this one couldn't be that different, right? He temporarily entertained the idea of the spirit's negotiation strategy relying entirely on double-bluffed reverse-psychology, but quickly realized that the fatigue must be getting to him if he was considering that line of thought seriously.

*Don't you want to become stronger?*

The spirit seemed to ignore him.

"What, you gonna try to get me into the van with some candy next? I'll be fine without some devil's deal. We have this under control."

*I wouldn't be sure about that…*

Subaru narrowed his sleep crusted eyes and halfheartedly swatted at the nimble light flitting about. It wasn't just that he was exhausted, injured, and almost at his limit- he figured that, even if he was in peak condition, he still wouldn't actually be able to hit it. For all he knew, it was completely incorporeal. He hadn't ever physically interacted with any spirits other than Puck and Beatrice, but he did recall Puck mentioning that a spirit taking a physical form required them to spend mana. A tiny speck of sentient light probably didn't have the energy to waste on that, doubly so if it had stooped to trying to scam someone such as himself to unknown ends. It was probably just avoiding his arm to assert its superiority.

As if in direct response to his thoughts, the light gained fresh zeal as it effortlessly zipped around, deftly evading his arm with no small amount of flair, before pulling up out of his reach entirely. Its motions reminded him of a humming bird, though he couldn't shake the annoying aura of superiority it oozed as it gloated above him. If it had arms, he was sure they would be crossed. If it had a mouth, it would be smirking.

*I will come back tomorrow, but I don't think you will be able to escape reality for much longer.*

"Yeah, whatever, man. Just leave."

Chapter Text

Subaru and Ram had returned to exploring the labyrinth-like mines once more after they woke up, but their advancement was slower than either of them expected. Ram was still in a bad state, and Subaru, at this point, wasn't fairing much better. They had run out of food as well as water, and Subaru had been forced to dial down the phone's brightness even further to buy them a little more time before it ran out of charge for good. With almost nothing left to carry, they had scrapped their empty bags and pouches and used the cleanest parts of the dirt-encrusted material to staunch their seeping wounds. He focused on drawing the arrows, rather than on their pitiful conditions.

"Done. This part is fully mapped. Dead end," Subaru choked out his words as he finished drawing an arrow on the wall. "Let's… search the other branch, we haven't checked that out yet."

Subaru had been doing most of the talking. While his voice was dry and ragged, Ram's had given out almost entirely. Rather than waste what strength her voice had left, she communicated basic call-outs with rough movements lit dimly by the phone. As Subaru wasn't carrying it, and its effective radius as a light had dwindled to almost nothing, he had to rely on sound to let Ram know what he was up to.

The pair began backtracking their way to the last intersection and proceeded down a fresh path. After a few minutes of travel, they came to another intersection, when Ram suddenly halted- body taut. He didn't notice this immediately, and started marking another arrow, when the sound of Ram sprinting down one of the paths snapped him out of his robotic motions.

"...Huh? What!? Ram! Wait!"

Subaru began running after her, but he couldn't catch up, let alone keep pace. Even given his condition, he wasn't exactly moving slowly- as far as he could tell, Ram was moving faster than most professional sprinters could manage, even on a good day.

'I thought she was injured!? Is she for real? What the hell is in that direction?'

The tunnel began sloping up, but the incline had no effect on Ram's speed. If anything, she was running even faster, all while Subaru slowed as he struggled against his physical condition and the increasing grade.

She could feel it! Yes, a creature on the same wavelength as her clairvoyance! Tapping into her last reservoir of energy, she launched forward, pounding her feet against the ground as she charged directly towards it. A dim natural light began to illuminate the tunnel as she approached.

'There is a way, Rem! Wait for me- I will save you this time, without fail!'

As the light reached its peak, though regrettably still dim, intensity, Ram burst into a large cavernous room, and momentarily slid to a stop. She glanced up, and fixated on the source of the light- a narrow opening halfway up the wall at the far extent of the cavern, barely accessible via some convenient rock formations. She advanced towards it as fast as she could force herself to move, pumping her arms-

*Crack*

She stepped on something. It wasn't important. She needed to reach the exit. No other outcome would be acceptable.

*Crack* *Crack*

More debris. It was getting annoying, but she wouldn't let it slow her down. Whatever she was trampling underfoot posed no threat to the reincarnation of the Oni-

A sound echoed through the cavern, snapping her out of her single-minded rush towards the light. She spared a glance behind her to spot the source, and found a panting, barely upright Subaru calling out to her. Something was wrong. His expression was not one of relief or joy, but that of-

"RAM! ON YOUR LEFT!"

-total terror. Her eyes followed Subaru's desperate gestures as she skidded to a halt and looked to her left. How had she missed such a thing?

It was a rat. An enormous rat. No, 'rat' didn't do it justice. If she was the reincarnation of the 'Oni God', then this atrocity of nature was the true, original incarnation of the 'Rat King'. A Rat God. She met its milky, beady eyes with her own, and instinctively started to back away from its intense aura. Its long, curved horn arced out from between its eyes, and twitched quickly and precisely about- its motions exaggerated from the spastic movement of the beast's head as it tracked her first with one nigh unseeing eye and then the other. Its ears twisted rapidly, aiming independently around the room at both the intruders and phantom noises she could not detect herself.

Its alarmingly indistinct, bone white tail whipped up above it into view with a whistling sound, displaying an array of large, shimmering spikes that protruded from either side. The rat smoothly, rhythmically swished its tail like a metronome, as though it learned the gesture from the ancestral predator it had long since surpassed. Such an unnervingly graceful motion was in stark contrast to the sharp, impulsive movements that dominated the rest of its body.

It twitched open its mouth, though it didn't stop opening when Ram would have expected it to. Instead, the witch beast's upper and lower jaws continued to unhinge further and further apart, displaying row upon row of serrated, spine-like protrusions. She would have called them teeth, but teeth didn't vibrate back and forth in a blur faster than she could process. Teeth didn't split apart like scissors, or writhe as though they were fully prehensile.

The tail wasn't shimmering. It was covered in innumerable, shivering quills that covered the entirety of the tail, like hair or fur. The large spikes weren't shimmering, either. Her bleary eyes had deceived her, and as adrenaline began accelerating her perception, they finally caught up with reality. Those spikes were convulsing, splitting, and snapping at her with impossible speed- just like the blades that lined its mouth.

But the beast's mouth still wasn't done opening. It kept splitting apart further and further, as though it was unzipping itself in front of her. The light from above caught the inside of its throat, and she felt her knees begin to shake at the sight of rings of yet more sharp pieces of chitinous flesh spinning around and around. Ring after ring, row after row, spinning up into a viscous, screeching storm that physically embodied the concept of consumption. Of [Gluttony].

The spines whistled in the air, propelling the stench of rotting, burning flesh towards her, and the beast let loose its cry. A scream. It screamed an echoing, reverberating scream of a thousand victims consumed over the last four centuries, forcing her backwards through sheer intensity. Her legs gave out, and she fell.

*Crack!*

As she lay on her back, her hands grasped hold of a piece of the brittle debris she had been crushing on her suicidal charge into the room. She brought her hand up to see what it held- time proceeding sluggishly as she did so.

A bone.

She cast her gaze around.

More bones.

Hundreds upon hundreds of shattered, pulverized, decidedly humanoid bones.

The beast had used its whirlwind of fangs to selectively strip its victims of every minuscule piece of meat possible. It crushed and snapped the bones apart, and used those same fangs to siphon the marrow from the bones, leaving behind a bed of brittle, hollow calcium.

Whatever power she had mustered on her final charge towards the light fled her shaking body. It was funny. The light she had been chasing was not supposed to be metaphorical.

'Not… not like this. I can't stop here. I can't stop now. I-I… have to get out of here.'

Despite her pathetic state, trembling on the floor in front of an entity that, ultimately, defied description, she forced the rage burning in her eyes first into her voice and then into the rest of her body.

"I will not fail. You are not going to stop me."

The beast howled and snapped its mouth shut in an instant, forcing a blast of rancid wind at her as she reached for her wand. Its tail whipped up above it, the quills' intensifying vibration piercing her ears with its high-pitched hiss, and sent a storm of shrieking needles hurtling towards her with a whip-like flick.

'Ah. All that talk... I am going to fail. Again. Aren't I, Re-'

Something smashed into her left side, pushing her away and sending her body skipping across the sea of bones. She looked towards the source of the impact, just in time to see a single quill tear through Subaru's left arm. Up close, she could see the projectile wasn't a simple, streamlined bolt, but was covered in dozens of smaller, backward-angled spines of its own. As the needle settled into his arm, its shrill vibration slowing even while it ate into his flesh, she saw those smaller spines press themselves forward- latching into his muscle and fat to dash any hope of clean extraction.

He continued sprinting after her limp, sliding form. Another spike struck him, this time penetrating fully through his left hand. He kept moving. Another glanced off his makeshift spear as he dropped his posture slightly, skidding forward to scoop her up with his undamaged right side while shielding his head with the blade of the weapon strapped to his back.

She watched the space behind Subaru as he continued his flat-out sprint towards the opening. As she bounced about in his grasp, the boy managed to stay just moments ahead of the deluge of spines that followed instants behind his every movement. They coated the bones and soft dirt behind him with countless slim, sharp protrusions- as if a field of bony, bladed grass had spontaneously germinated from the piles of humanoid remains littering the ground.

'Pathetic. Pathetic. Failing and failing and failing and failing-'

The witch beast, recognizing that its aim with its tail quills was apparently insufficient on its own, unhinged its jaws and barreled forward after Subaru, shaking the cavern with its lumbering mass that moved far too quickly for its size. Its bladed mouth rings sliced through the air with an ever-rising, increasingly high-pitched whine.

'Pretending and pretending like I could-'

Subaru ran faster.

Yet the beast was getting closer. A completely unremarkable human boy had no chance to outpace a rat such as this in a race.

"Think, think, think-"

She listened to him mumble between his frantic panting and his pained gasps as he fled from the maw of the beast. Another whistling volley of quills forced him to break off to the right, away from the path leading them to safety.

She saw his eyes latch onto something. At this point, they had traversed almost an entire lap around the cavern, now coming near to where they had entered in the first place. Several tunnels converged from the depths along this wall, overlapping into a mess of thin stone spikes and gaping openings leading into the dark. The dim glow of an arrow Subaru had diligently marked before she had run off was visible far down one of the corridors.

"I know."

'I'm just dead weight, just like I have been-'

Subaru charged headlong into the tunnel even as the beast approached him, falling into a slide and picking up speed against the slick floor. She watched him leave behind crimson marks, any unprotected skin ablating and peeling off his legs. As they approached the arrow marked in the dark, Subaru, with his injured arm, brandished his spear and smashed the butt-end of the shaft into the rock, slowing them down enough to save them from colliding with the tunnel wall.

He pushed her into the tunnel the arrow was pointing out from, and braced his spear against the ground while the rat slid uncontrollably after them.

"C-come on, Shovel-san, show me what you've got!"

She watched the witch beast open its jaws wide as it hurtled down the stone towards him, intending to swallow him whole.

'No…'

"Push!"

Subaru yelled out as he pushed himself out of harm's way using his spear's purchase on the ground, diving towards her instants before the rat's jaws smashed into the wall- its writhing mouth spines screeching against the stone. The momentum of its body forced its jaws ever wider as it piled upon itself.

Gasping for air, Subaru scrambled up, turned about, and slammed his spear into the beast's unprotected eye, resulting in another ungodly scream as the rat reeled away while simultaneously trying to unflatten itself off the wall. It thrashed around in pain, struggling to move in the tight space.

Subaru retreated before he could get caught in its flailing and scampered towards her, again taking her up in his good arm, before he began sprinting down the tunnel. It was too dark to see much of anything, but from the dimly glowing arrows she saw marked onto the now left side of the wall, pointing back towards the rat, it seemed that he had decided to retreat back from whence they came. Back towards the collapsed tunnel, and the tiny crawl space that remained- the tunnel that had almost killed them the day before. If it saved their lives now, maybe she could forgive the stones' impertinence for-

Subaru stumbled, snapping her out of her thoughts, before he seemed to force himself back to stability with sheer will alone. He continued his all-out sprint, pained breathing weighing on her as he struggled to move fast enough to take advantage of the time he had bought. Something wet dripped onto her side. Another blood-curdling, whistle-tinged screech echoed from behind them.

Ram watched the beast's now somewhat distorted form begin to emerge from the darkness behind them, illuminated by the dim light of the metia clutched desperately in her grasp. The rat clumsily smashed about, still seeming disoriented from its sudden loss of an eye and the harsh impact it had sustained.

A fresh, wailing war cry drowned out the sound of Subaru's strange footwear pounding against the stone as the beast finally regained its composure. In the murky darkness, she could vaguely make out its shape as it once more unhinged its jaws and charged after them. Subaru took another sudden turn, and began scrambling up what she realized was the pile of rubble from the collapsed tunnel- he had made it. They could still make it. Behind them, she could hear another grinding crash as the beast slammed into another wall, unable to turn nimbly enough to pursue them freely and too hungry to learn from its mistakes. Subaru untangled her from his grip and began trying to usher her through the tiny opening that was all that remained of the path further back. She began to crawl through the hole, but glanced back.

Something was wrong.

She looked at her side- what remained of her uniform now had a massive, and still growing, red splotch centered on just above her hip. She hadn't been injured there.

She looked up.

A quill was protruding from Subaru's left eye socket, still profusely leaking blood in time with his rapid heartbeats and breathing. The grinding behind them ceased, and heavy pounding echoed down the hall as the rat aimed itself towards them for what she knew in her twisting gut was the final time.

"Your eye."

"No time! Go through!"

Behind him, the form of the beast was looming larger and larger-

She forced herself through the opening with another burst of borrowed strength, tearing her sight away from Subaru again bracing his spear against the debris pile in preparation for the rat's charge.

The ground shook. The still, dusty air of the crawlspace was forced away with another blast of rancid breath expelled from the rat's throat as it stormed forward. She struggled through the rubble and roots as fast as her body would allow. If Subaru used the same strategy as before, the rat would slam into the weak rock surrounding the opening, and likely cause the remaining passage to finish its already nearly complete collapse- burying her, trapping him, or both. She called out, panicking at the realization.

"Subaru!"

"SHAMAK!"

Black smoke exploded out from behind her, followed by the sound of the beast screeching and dozens of projectiles ricocheting across stone. She continued crawling forward, pathetically, as she pleaded.

"Subaru! Please! Please come back!"

She could hear his voice, screaming something unintelligible, followed by a horrible, horrible grinding noise, and then silence.

"Subaru! SUBARU! PLEASE!"

More silence. Ram reached the end of the collapsed section, tumbled down from the elevated exit, curled into a ball, and started to cry.

*Clank!*

She looked up in the dim light to see a mangled shovel, now with a significantly shortened shaft, getting tossed roughly out of the hole. It was followed by a hand feeling around for grip, and then a human male's upper torso.

Subaru, covered almost entirely in both dirt and blood, forced his way out of the crawlspace. He grasped his weapon in his right hand, and began dragging himself forward on his stomach, trailing a ruined left arm and heavily injured left leg. He slid down the pile of rubble and gained a few feet of distance towards her, before stopping and rolling over, panting heavily.

"H-heh. N-nice work Shovel-san. L-looking a little chewed up there, t-though. Fuck."

Ram, still sobbing, crawled over to where Subaru laid, sprawled out on his back, and tried to help him sit up.

"H-hey Ram."

He chuckled.

"Kept you waiting, huh?"

"S-subaru."

She choked back her tears for a moment, steadying herself as best she could, and started shakily performing first aid- clumsily ripping strips of cloth from their already shredded clothing and repurposed bags to try to bandage his wounds. As long as she didn't attempt to remove any of the projectiles, she hoped she could at least prevent him from immediately bleeding out.

"The dumb rat… I jammed up its b-blender teeth b-bullshit with Shovel-san. That seemed to do a number on it. I don't think it's dead, but I did take its other e-eye. Only fair to do a t-two for one deal. I think it's out for now..."

"Ssss…"

"I'm p-pretty sure it can't f-force its way through the hole, so we are probably s-safe for a bit- at least enough for you to figure out what we need to do next."

She lost grip on a knot she was tying, her tremors momentarily overwhelming her hands.

"No, I c-can't. I failed."

She attempted to tie the knot again, but slipped. She gave up, settling for tightly wrapping the grimy fabric so she could move on to another wound.

"That was just a m-mistake! We all make mistakes even when it is easy not to, and right now n-nothing we are dealing with is easy. You can't let it get to you. I am s-sure you can figure out something."

"No… I can't! I keep f-failing and failing and failing!"

She moved her focus away from wounds near the quills- she was afraid that her tremors would cause her to bump into them and cause even more damage.

"W-we're alive, aren't we? I am sure you can come up with an amazing plan, I mean you're our Nee-sa-"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

She fell back away from him, her entire body shaking. She couldn't force her limbs to obey her commands any longer, instead once more succumbing to her sobs.

"... Right, s-sorry, I forgot about the rule…"

"NO! NO, NO, NO! It isn't about that! It isn't about that at all! L-look at you… your eye…" Ram said, while unsteadily moving back towards him. She weakly brought her shaking hand to the side of Subaru's face, careful to not actually touch him.

"H-heh, no can do-"

"STOP! Stop joking around! This isn't a joke! It's not funny! It's my fault! I failed! I failed! Look at your eye! Your head! You hand! Your arm! Your leg! You are injured all over! I couldn't protect you! I got you into every single one of the situations that injured you! By the dragon, ordering you to light that fire could have blown off your hands! Or killed you! Killed me! After all that I said, after all that… I don't deserve to be called that, called a sister. I don't deserve to be treated that way!"

Subaru opened and closed his mouth in silence, unable to find words to answer her with. He hadn't known Ram for very long in the scheme of things, and had known 'this' Ram for an even shorter amount of time. As someone who almost exclusively relied on trial and error, intuition, and luck, he found himself completely unprepared to handle the normally unflappable maid having a breakdown in front of him. In his exhausted, injury-induced stupor, as his ruined eye continued to seep blood down his face and onto his chest, he doubled down.

"You always t-think of everything, you'll c-come up with a plan, right? I'm sure of it. I believe in-"

"NO!" Ram's sobbing intensified as she interrupted him, yelling as loudly as her pathetic, trembling voice would allow. Her hands clenched, too weak to beat the ground she so desperately wanted to bury herself in.

"No... Why- why did you listen to me!? Why are you still listening to me!? Why are you putting up with me!? That man from the village was right! I am horrible! I speak like I know and can do everything, yet all I have done is walk around and almost get you killed over and over! I told you I would give you power when all I can do is take! I take, and I take, and I take!"

He watched her features twist in anguish, her posture slumping as though she was a puppet with freshly cut strings.

"If Roswaal-sama neglected to provide me with mana, I would waste away and die. If Rem neglected to perform my duties, I would be rightfully declared incompetent and would promptly find myself abandoned- homeless, helpless, and destitute. If you had, even for a moment, taken my horrible behavior on its face and rightfully left me to my own devices at any point in the last few days, I would have been almost immediately killed! When I am this weak, to take on this mask of strength, to lie and manipulate you into acting as a tool and a shield… I am nothing but a fraud! I manipulated you into losing all hope! Rather than conserving my energy, and working with you as an equal, I berated you and beat you in turn until you lost your very will to live! I used all of my understanding of you, all of my wit, to intentionally attack every weakness and insecurity I know you possess to enslave you! I nearly drove you to suicide, and I was completely fine with it! If it saved Rem, I was completely fine with it! Worse, you were completely fine with it! You just took it! You took it, got back up after I pummeled you into dust, and had the gall to thank me! To ask me for help! For guidance!"

She rocked back forwards and fell into him, shaking uncontrollably- now only propped up by her forehead pressing into his upper chest. He impotently tried to move an arm but found most of his body was completely unresponsive, though in his haze of pain he wasn't sure what he even wanted to do with his arm had he been able to move it.

"I criticize him for following that book. I judge him for what it and his desperation and his sickness drive him to do, has driven him to do. I aim to reform him, as I know that what he is doing is wrong! Yet, put into a situation that is but a mere shadow of his, I fall immediately to using the same cruel, unforgivable techniques! I am no better than- no I am far, far worse…"

She trailed off, choking back the tears threatening to silence her. Her body stilled, as she momentarily seemed to regain some control over herself before she continued with a low, deadened voice- each word enunciated without inflection.

"You have been doing everything since we fell in to this cave- no, even before then. You placed nearly all of the barrier stones without error, even using them to protect yourself when ambushed, while I just watched from afar. Without an ounce of magical talent, and an infinitesimal fraction of the strength I can wield, you faced and defeated multiple man-sized wolves while outnumbered and overpowered, while I struggled with an opponent I should have been able to defeat with less than zero effort. Those reinforcements came from the direction of the barrier stones I placed. In my haste and incompetence, I left myself open to them, forcing you to risk your life to save me. In my haste and incompetence, I squandered the vast majority of my mana collapsing the very ground we were standing on, putting us into this situation in the first place, even as you risked your life to shield me from the immediate consequences of my own moronic actions! At every turn, you have turned what should have been desperate, suicidal 'plans', that were little more than increasingly unfavorable gambles at your own expense, into viable courses of action. You either mitigated and protected me from the consequences of failure, or managed to even eke out a small victory!"

Emotion filtered back into her voice, whatever final mask she had donned cracking, and then breaking entirely as her trembling words steadily escalated into a scream of agony suppressed only by her weakness and injuries.

"And you know what I felt? Do you know what I felt when I saw this powerless boy, who I had personally beaten into submission, driven to nearly take his own life, and broken into becoming a blindly obedient dog, surpass me? Defeat my enemies for me? Save me? Envy! I was envious of you. You, lacking in everything! You, who cuts himself peeling tatos, who can barely read, barely spell his own name! I didn't want you to save me! I didn't want you to do better than me! To be better than me! I wanted to be the one to save my sister!"

She pushed away from him once more and looked up to meet him in the eye- her own sunken and crimson with strain.

"I told myself that everything was acceptable as long as I achieved my goal of saving Rem, but that wasn't even really true! I wanted to save my sister, to be her elder who could protect her and look out for her. I accused you of seeking glory when all you were doing was trying to motivate yourself in the face of insurmountable odds. Your antics were just that, harmless antics. You were never thinking of looking like a hero when it was actually time to act like one! Meanwhile, half the reason we are in this situation is because I was too focused on 'playing hero' for my sister to bother even looking around!"

Her trembling, somehow, increased, and her words, even through now panicked gasps, tumbled out of her ever faster- her eyes beginning to dart around manically as they lost focus.

"I acted like I had everything under control. I acted like everything would be easy. But it is not that easy, and it was not that easy! And when I crumbled under the pressure, you, you pathetic, homeless piece of living trash, shouldered it all for me. You always charge in, pick me up, and carry me to safety! You faced that- that monster with a broken, deformed, rusty shovel that you picked off the ground! That you bashed into shape with a rock! And you didn't lose! You did more damage to it than it did to you! If you are able to do that, what does that make me?! How could I ever possibly justify or atone for how I have treated you?! You just wanted to help, and I belittled you, tormented you, manipulated you, and nearly killed you over my sense of pride. You are not the pathetic one, the disgusting one, the one less than trash!"

She paused and her head tipped back, her dazed gaze beholding something far beyond the low rock ceiling above them. Panic had given way to something closer to apathetic acceptance. Wiping her face with her bloodied, muck encrusted sleeve, she let out a chuckle that quickly devolved into a sob, and she, again, crumpled forward into him.

"A-and look where we are! I don't know what day it is! Rem could die at any moment, and I have gotten us trapped in these mines! There are raw mana crystal deposits in the stone here that could explode if I so much as give the wrong spot a kick! There is a witch beast that I have never heard of before less than a dozen meters away! You think we are safe here?! Those teeth chewed into rock and mangled the metal of your shovel- how long do you think it will take to burrow through some dirt to us?! We are out of food and water. The only light source we have, the one that you brought, a memento from a home you say you will never be able to return to, that contains the only images of your loved ones you possess, that you can't ever replace or 'recharge', is nearly depleted of its light. You have been partially blinded, your left arm is so injured that we might need to amputate it just to limit the number of places you are bleeding from, and I have no idea what those quills are or what they are going to do to you!"

She seemed to force down her hysteria and cries of anguish as she fully collapsed onto his chest, only to continue quietly with a voice that had long since shattered- now merely dust.

"Maybe- maybe when I was younger, when I had the strength I just pretend to have now, I could have justified my pride. But I- I don't have it anymore. With it, I was doomed to fall to its urges, and without it… I am nothing. I am worse than a shadow of my former self- at least shadows don't weigh anyone down! Rem will die because of my carelessness and complacency. I will die because of my incompetence. And you will die because of my pride. I- I manipulated you into this, and now we will have three corpses instead of two. You saved a candidate for the throne, only for your reward to be a thankless job, endless abuse at my own hand, and the chance to pursue your infatuation with a moronic, naive woman with the mind of child who does not understand the concept of friendship, let alone romantic love. And even that pitiful reward I have stolen from you! I replaced it with a cruel, pointless death in these accursed depths after you spent all of your energy, threw away every chance of your own survival, to preserve the life of an ungrateful, intolerable wench such as myself for a handful of hours longer! I do not have a plan, Subaru! I did not have a plan! I don't think I ever really had a plan beyond dumping some rocks on the ground and taking my chances! I do not have a plan, I do not know what to do, I do not know where to go, and I do not know how to give you strength! You did not need me to give you strength! You never needed me! It… it was I who needed you. I- I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Subaru."

Her words stopped, though her tears and quiet, choked gasps did not.

Subaru suddenly smacked the less injured side of his face.

"I deserved that."

Ram's eyes opened wide and she pulled away, the energy to push herself up out of his non-embrace a result of a confused, desparete concern of him injuring himself any further.

"What... What are you doing!? You're-!"

"Sorry, Ram, but…" Subaru interrupted her with an apologetic voice.

"Are you dumb?" His tone switched to one of rebuke.

"Wha-?"

"No, no, you are dumb. Don't get me wrong, I'm even dumber, but that's not the point right now. You have no idea what is going on in my head, do you? You didn't drive me to suicide, I needed to- not important. I would have helped you without any sort of manipulation! I wanted to help, not because you dragged me into anything or because you brainwashed me or whatever, but because I wanted to help a friend, just like I wanted to help Emilia with her insignia! You just needed to ask like a normal person! Gha, all of you, why-?! D-dammit!"

He coughed, spitting out fluid. She couldn't make out the color in the dim light. She averted her eyes, focusing on the ground beneath her while he continued his bizarre simultaneous beratement of both himself and her.

"I'm such an idiot! Sorry for dumping responsibility on you-"

"But it's my fault-!"

"No! Now you're gonna give up? I'm not gonna take that from you. It's the Natsuki family tradition to not take our shoes off when stepping into the heart of the matter, even though I am a coward who rarely ever does that, so listen up! Better late than never! You told me we weren't heroes, that we didn't have to perfect, all that stuff- and you were right! But you also said we would give it our all to help the people we care about, and I'm not done giving my all, and neither are you. Sure, you demanded that I let you take on all the responsibility, but it takes two to tango! I played along! What were you going to do if I had said no to something? Beat me up? Seriously? I mean, you could probably beat me up even now, but you weren't going to do that. I didn't commit to calling you out on anything because I'm a coward who is more afraid of how you see me than dying of thirst and blood loss in your evil clown boyfriend's abandoned bat-cave! You don't get to steal all the blame for this- I'm a greedy guy, I won't let you. Best offer I can do is a fifty-fifty split. And that's generous of me."

He let out a strained sigh, grimacing as he readjusted himself against the pile of rubble he had propped himself up against.

"Hey. Ram."

She looked back up towards him. Despite the pain etched into his face, she could see the softness in his remaining eye even in the near-darkness.

"If you want to make up for being a jerk, help me up, would you? If we work together, we can definitely make this work. We can make it out of here. This isn't over. I even have a bit of a plan already, but I need your help with the details. I can't do this on my own."

She stared at him.

"Oh, and if we are talking about atonement- can we maybe nix rule 4? That's kinda a lame one, to be honest."

Despite herself, a raw, dry chuckle escaped her lips. Even though his pep-talk had primarily consisted of calling her an idiot and then insulting himself, she couldn't deny that he had a point.

"Sure, Subaru."

"Oh, yeah, by the way, not that I mind, but what happened to calling me Barusu? Aside from it being a blinding curse, a nickname from Ram is a badge of honor."

"Are you a masochist, moron? It was an insult. I didn't trust you, and you were incompetent, so you deserved an insult as a name. And then I… it doesn't feel right to call you that now."

"Aww, I'm touched, Nee-sama."

"Don't push your luck."

"But I'm all fired up after hearing your bullshit- I'm demonically inspired!"

"What?"

"Well, you know. It's like the demonic version of divine inspiration. Gods don't ever do anything. Demons, though, will laugh all through next year with you. Plus, it sounds pretty hardcore, right?"

"What."

"Well, I think it sounds cool."

A moment of silence passed.

"Come on, Ram, we aren't going to die down here. Let's go save Rem. Together."

She gave a weak nod.

"Okay! Seriously, though, please help me up. My leg is going kinda numb, and there is no way I am standing up on my own."

Subaru pushed her up from his chest, aimed the brightest smile he could muster at her, one that glinted even in the dark, and wiped the tears from her face with strained movements from his only functional arm and hand.

Ram's earlier dry chuckle returned, this time with marginally more mirth.

"You're an idiot."

With her remaining energy, she dragged herself to her feet, and helped him to his. They both limped over to the tunnel wall where they could sit more comfortably, before she continued the process of bandaging and attending to Subaru's various wounds. While his earlier vigor subsided significantly after he finished pulling her back from beyond the brink of despair, he nonetheless remained aware and focused, shifting himself around as best he could to make her job easier. She could tell, however, that the pain was eating at him. How the boy was still conscious, she could not fathom. They silently decided to leave further planning for another time.

After treating almost all of his wounds, and repurposing some of Shovel-san's shredded haft and smoothed fragments of rat quills to splint his leg and arm, she turned her attention to the remains of his ruined eye.

"Subaru… your eye injury is exceedingly dangerous. As it is, I can't properly wrap it, and, if you fall on it, you may very well drive the quill further in."

"Oh."

He appeared almost completely unfazed. Annoyed, at most. A dark emotion twisted in her gut- horrified, but unsure just exactly why his response was so disturbing. He must have picked up on her distress, as he suddenly brought a more reasonable, more fearful expression to his face. Had she not been so focused on him in that moment, she would have questioned whether he had initially responded in such a way at all.

"A-any ideas on how to handle that?"

"I can't remove the quill without killing you. We would need healing magic to deal with the aftermath, and that isn't available right now. I am going to try to break most of it off so that it at least won't get worse if you get hit the wrong way… but I don't have a good way to do that. It will probably hurt."

"O-oh. There's a one sticking out of Shovel-san, maybe practice on that first?"

Again, that matter-of-fact response caused that unidentifiable emotion to writhe in her gut. She sluggishly crawled over to Subaru's makeshift weapon, and indeed found a quill embedded towards the very end of the shaft, though at this point it was more like a particularly long sword hilt. She dragged it back over to be closer to Subaru's light-emitting metia, and motioned for Subaru to pay attention. After taking up two stones of the appropriate size and shape, she positioned them against the quill.

"I want you to try snapping the quill in half. The stones I am holding should keep it from pivoting or moving too much while also giving you some leverage, but I want to make sure that that plan works before we try it on the one in your eye. If that doesn't work… I still have some mana left in me. I can try cutting it with a wind blade, but it will knock me out for quite some time. I need to be awake to actually perform any subsequent treatment. I am also reaching the point where I can't just fight through the mana depletion. If I run out completely, I will die."

"O-oh. Yeah, let's try to avoid that. Lemme just-"

He turned to his side and grabbed several of the scrap bandages he had helped create while she had focused on his wounds. He wrapped his hand with them to provide some protection from the quill's additional spines and indicated he was ready to test out the technique.

She pinned the quill in place with the rocks as best she could while using her leg to steady the weapon itself so that it didn't move when Subaru applied force. He cautiously found a grip that avoided most of the spines, said, "Alright, three, two, one-"

She watched as he applied sudden force to the quill… only for nothing to happen. She wasn't sure what she had expected. He shouldn't be this mobile. He shouldn't be awake. He, all things considered, shouldn't even be alive at this point, considering the severity of his injuries.

"Damn that thing is tough! I can't even bend it!"

"Well, we need to clear most of it away- if we don't stop most of the bleeding, you won't wake up tomorrow."

"I can try hitting it with a rock? That's always a good trick."

Her gut jolted again. She pushed it down. What was so wrong with facing a situation calmly?

"I don't see why you can't try that."

They repositioned, and Subaru found a particularly sharp shard of hard stone amongst the clay-like rubble.

"Again, three, two, one-"

He slammed the stone as hard as he could muster into the protruding part of the quill, and it snapped off with a sharp crack that reverberated down the hall.

"It was embedded in wood as opposed to flesh, but I did feel like it tried to move under the rocks, and I was able to hold it in place. Hopefully, that holds true for the one in your eye."

"Right. This is going to suck."

"Sorry, Subaru."

"Just make sure I don't brain myself doing this, Nee-sama."

She watched him bring a weak smirk to his face. The writhing intensified.

'Why don't you seem to care?'

"No promises."

She brought her two, slim stones right up against his ruined eye socket, trying to find a spot that steadied the quill enough to prevent movement, while also allowing Subaru to break off as much of the projectile as possible. She watched him grimace as the quill moved slightly under the stones as she applied pressure, fresh blood leaking down his face.

At least he had a pain response, even one as dulled as his seemed to be. She wasn't sure why that of all things gave her a sense of relief.

"H-hey, Ram."

"Yes?"

"I'm kind of confused on why this thing hasn't already killed me. Shouldn't it have gone straight through my e-eye and into my brain?"

"Ignoring the obvious joke of you just not having a large enough brain for that to be a problem, it looks to me like it glanced off some bone. These also aren't very heavy, and they seemed to be slower than arrows- I think it fully penetrating your hand was due to the lack of flesh as opposed to the power of the projectile."

"A-ah."

He sat there, quiet.

"Ram, I'm gonna be honest, I am not sure I can bring myself to hit this thing hard enough to snap it. It might be better for me to use my hand to hold one of the rocks you are holding, while you do the honors."

She considered this, ignoring her emotions.

'How could he trust me to do such a thing?'

"I don't know, Subaru. I am better able to hold the quill in position since I can coordinate my hands better in tandem than if you were holding one of the stones."

"No getting around it, huh. Well, it can't be worse than getting your g-gut slashed open, right?"

He awkwardly chuckled, and she didn't bother responding to his exceedingly disturbing rhetorical question, letting the dark conversation lapse into silence. She recalled the state she found him in the capital, collapsed on the ground outside of a ruined building, the half-elf completely drained from stabilizing a horrific slash across his stomach.

'Coping mechanism?'

Subaru took a breath, before speaking once more.

"Alright, move to my left then so I don't accidentally hit you."

She shuffled over and patiently waited for Subaru to muster the will necessary to inflict significant amounts of pain to himself.

"If this kills me, next time I see her, I'm telling Rem that you got my face all busted up."

She felt as though her gut coiled in on itself in response. She reviewed her theories. This was not normal behavior.

'Odd choice of words… does he believe in an afterlife? Or maybe he still thinks this is some kind of vision... but that doesn't make any sense either. He is too invested to think this isn't real.'

Ignoring the boiling horror in her core, she steadied herself. While she would normally have insulted his posturing, she was well aware that in this case his words were more for himself than anyone else. She went with the assumption that he was referring to some form of afterlife and responded appropriately.

"Don't bother. I'll tell her myself."

He placed a scrap of leather in his mouth. She then watched him raise his trembling arm up above his head, rock in hand, as he took in a few unsteady breaths through gritted teeth.

He swung down, and the quill snapped.

"GHRRRRAAAAAA!"

Subaru thrashed around, screaming in agony, as she quickly pulled the rocks away from his face and tried to hold him down so she could survey the damage. He weakly attempted to bring his functional hand to cover and protect his destroyed eye socket as he sobbed and cried out, but she easily restrained him. Their plan hadn't worked perfectly, and the quill had definitely shifted somewhat in the socket, but she didn't think the additional damage would prove fatal. With fresh blood and tears streaming down his face, she began working as quickly as her exhausted limbs would allow, tightly wrapping the wound as he struggled under her. This, fortunately, didn't take long, and she soon had hidden away the gaping hole in his face that had replaced a soft, kind, if a bit scary, brown-irised eye. Once she was done, she propped him up against the wall and collapsed beside him- fully depleted of whatever energy she had mustered for the procedure. She kept his hand in her grasp, though, to keep track of his pulse. After a few minutes of listening to Subaru trying and failing to regain control of himself, he finally quieted.

"H-heh. At least the rat c-can't see at all."

"Subaru… it was already mostly blind."

He stiffened next to her.

"Y-your kidding."

"Its eyes were almost completely white. I am not an expert on witch beasts, but…" she replied quietly. Unfortunately, she was not kidding.

He let out a joyless snort in response and slumped over.

"Fucking figures. Of course, the valiant sacrifice has to be completely p-pointless. I even noticed the eyes were all... Idiot..." He fell silent for a few moments, before continuing after seemingly forcing himself out of whatever headspace that particular revelation had dragged him into. "Thanks for bandaging my eye... we'll figure out where to go from here after we rest."

"Sure. Good night."

"Yeah. You too, Ram."

He shut off their dwindling light and fell into silence. They sat propped up against each other to ward off the cold, and Ram, in order to assure herself of his continued pulse, kept Subaru's hand in her own. She fell asleep to its steady, even beat.

Deep into what Subaru presumed was the night, another wave of belated pain washed over his senses, jolting him from his half-slumber into a sluggish awareness. He opened his eye, training it on the nothingness above him, and sighed.

‘Damn it, I can't sleep. I played tough, but this really hurts… at least dying ends.’

He found himself sat upon the floor, back slumped against the wall- the near total darkness held at bay by the almost nonexistent glow of their dwindling supply of lagmite chalk and the scant, scrawled marks made with said chalk on the nearby walls. He was in a pitiful state. Heavily wounded, starving, dehydrated, and freezing, he would have long since succumbed to panic and pain in any almost any other circumstance. His last vestiges of composure, however, were anchored down by his companion’s presence. Ram fitfully slept on his chest, clutching tightly to his tattered shirt, though her hold seemed to keep more than just the cloth in hand.

For all that she was doing for his mental state and warmth, however, she looked just as miserable in turn. Her eyes, even closed, appeared exhausted and drained- surrounded by heavy bags and dark circles, probably from all the tears and blood spilt just a few hours prior. Had he not been such a moron, maybe it wouldn’t have come to this. Even still, at least in sleep, she seemed to have found a sliver of solace.

“When I see you sleep like that, its really hard to believe you are capable of saying the kinds of things that come out of that mouth of yours-”

His quiet, bemused whispering was suddenly interrupted by what felt like a flare going off in his face. Even if he was prepared for its arrival, his eye, accustomed to the dark, was not.

“I was wondering when you would show up.”

Chapter Text

“I was wondering when you would show up.”

He attempted to keep the quake of uncertainty and indecision out of his hushed voice, even as he flinched and moved his hand to shield his eye from the miniature sun floating in front of him. Master of putting up a front as he was, he wouldn’t let these circumstances get in the way of pathetically projecting a show of obviously faked strength. The light buzzed back, amused.

*Oh? You were waiting for me? You aren't looking so great. An 'I told you so' just might be in order.*

“Yeah, whatever, man.”

*You are lucky to be alive, you know. If you hadn’t been such a-*

Subaru, incensed, decided to ignore the incredibly subtle, and equally surprising, tone of concern- masked as it was by reproachful derision.

“Shut up. At this point, it's not like whatever sketchy shit you are trying to pull over on me can be much worse than the situation we put ourselves in. We have nothing to lose, so just get on with it already.”

The slightest of pauses was followed by a sudden brightening of both the light and its voice as it responded.

*Great decision! Follow me, if you would.*

Subaru, careful to extract himself from Ram's hold without waking her, forced himself to his feet, relying more on the wall beside him than his own legs.

After steadying himself, he leaned over, and tucked the closed cell phone into Ram’s grasp before partitioning off half of the remaining lagmite chalk and piling it up next to her. He glanced up to see the light vibrating impatiently in place, and started walking towards it. In response, the clearly elated spirit zipped forward, seemingly forgetting just how slow Subaru was going to have to go. He sighed, and began limping into the dark after the light, scrawling poorly formed, half-hearted marks along the wall as he did so.

‘Here’s hoping this doesn’t get me killed.’

He glanced back at Ram, who had subconsciously curled in on herself, holding a phantom arm and clutching the phone to her chest.

‘She needs the rest- I will check what the spirit has to show me, and get her if it's worth it. No need to give her false hope. Damn it, I can't believe I idolized her so much. Thinking back on her sleeping face, she’s just a 17-year-old girl afraid to lose her sister. Why did I think I could dump all the responsibility on her?!’

Subaru was confused. He had been following the spirit for some time, but they have only been retracing their tracks back towards where they had initially fallen into the mines. He reluctantly drew yet another sloppy arrow under the one already there to hopefully avoid getting confused. On the upshot, the Spirit’s light was bright enough to navigate by on its own. He had only tripped a few times on unseen rocks and roots, and that was mostly due to the missing eye and his newly lost depth perception.

“Are you sure this is the right way? Ram and I already explored this path yesterday.”

The Spirit halted suddenly, gently floating in the middle of the tunnel. Subaru stared at him.

‘What? Did he get lost? Can spirits even get lost?’

*It's here.*

Somehow, without really moving, the Spirit gave the impression of gesturing towards one of the walls. Subaru turned his head and looked closely at where it was indicating, but saw nothing besides dirt.

“What do you mean ‘here’? It’s just a dirt wall,” said Subaru, confused.

*It’s right here, even though it seems someone changed it a little,* the Spirit buzzed as it lost some of its luster and slowly approached the surface it indicated.

“What the hell is up with this place…” Subaru mumbled to himself and watched as the light just floated in space: still, dim, and seemingly unresponsive. His already strained patience did not hold out very long, and he soon found himself huffing at the Spirit in irritation. “I knew it! Damn it, wasting my time, what am I gonna tell-”

Once again, he found himself blinded by a sudden surge of incredibly bright light. He idly found himself reminded of the flash-bang effects from some of the video games he played… sans ‘bang’, of course. His musings were cut short by the Spirit’s buzzing, though as it spoke, the tone filled out into a deep, reverberating voice. By the time it was done, what had sounded similar to a distant, cheap pair of earbuds had become something more natural- more human. No longer did the voice echo inside his head, like it had bypassed his ears, either.

“Welcome to the Atlas. I am designated as Pyxis, Sage Candidate. Good luck with the trials. I await your success in the chambers beyond.”

Disoriented, and furiously rubbing at his partially blinded right eye, Subaru was only half paying attention.

“Shit! Shit, that’s my last eye! What the hell is it with you and blinding people!?”

“You have bigger concerns than complaining about the only eye you have left.”

A few seconds passed before Subaru properly comprehended what Pyxis had just said.

“Wait, was that a pun, asshole?!”

He got no response, and after a minute of grumbling and pressing himself against a wall to keep his bearings, his vision started to return. Pyxis was gone, and the spirit’s light went with it, so it took some time for his sight to clear and adapt to the excessive dimness, but even so, the lagmite chalk simply lacked the luminescence to see much detail. Straining into the dark an image finally resolved, and he found that the dirt wall the spirit had been floating next to had given way to a reveal an opening into a spacious vestibule, at the back of which were massive, metal double-doors. They stood at least 5 meters tall, though the lack of light and depth perception made it hard to determine the exact dimensions.

After another minute of silent gawking, he pulled himself together.

“...I think this is enough of a reason to bring her.”

Subaru dragged himself as fast as he could manage to the room he had left Ram in.

‘I hope nothing happened to her.’

‘Where… where could have she gone? Where is she?!’

Subaru had made it to the section of collapsed passageway he had left her in, only to find that nobody was there. The pile of chalk he had left was seemingly undisturbed, and Ram was nowhere to be found. Panicking, he threw his gaze left, and then right, squinting his eye around the darkened space in search of any evidence of her whereabouts, but without his phone or the spirit, he couldn’t make much out. At the end of the day, his senses were only human, and this, apparently, was their limit. He decided to risk making some noise.

“Ram! Ram! Where are you?!” whisper shouted Subaru, but the only response his solicitation earned was his own echo. He shuddered, and crouched down against the wall- rocking gently back and forth, hands moving to cover his head, in an attempt to keep calm. “Could… could she have left? But where... We said we would help each other…”

He tried to focus, to think through the problem, but only felt his panic rising the more he did so. The enclosed space of the cave suddenly felt suffocating, and the little light that remained seemed to fade out of his perception- the darkness blinding him. His trembling worsened, forcing him out of his crouch into an awkward seated position, unable to maintain his balance. He muttered to himself, though he could barely make out the sound over the overwhelming silence.

“In her state, going alone- it’d be suicide…”

He felt something softly tap his head, and heard, with frightening clarity, a dull snapping noise. Startled, he pitched forward unsteadily, before whirling around as fast as his wounded body would allow, breathless with fear.

Standing behind him was Ram: arms crossed and doing her best to stand straight.

“Now that you understand, why did you go alone? Did you think the same wouldn’t apply to you? We agreed we would help each other, and here you are escaping at the first occasion.”

He tried to rebut her, but only managed a choked grunt. He was too startled to reign in his hyperventilation to actually speak. Even if he could, he quickly realized he wouldn’t have anything to say.

“We said we are a team- that we would fight together. So, Subaru, what could bring you to leave me alone here?”

“It’s- it’s not like that…” he finally managed. He looked up to see her forcing a glare through an otherwise terrified expression.

‘Fuck.’

He knew he had made a mistake- nothing new. Yet, he couldn’t help but feel that explaining himself would be pointless, and instead opted to just apologize.

“Sorry, this... this won't happen again.”

“Answer the question.”

“I… understood. So, uh, long story short, every time we took a break to rest, this… spirit? I guess it is a spirit. A spirit just kinda showed up, and tried to convince me to follow it… I refused every time though, since, you know, stranger danger and all...”

Ram’s glare intensified.

“And you didn’t deem such a thing relevant or important enough to inform me?”

“That… wasn’t my intention Ram, its just…”

Despite her attempts to mask it, he could see the hurt etched into her face. Perhaps...

“You were in a bad situation. I wasn’t entirely sure I wasn’t just hallucinating, and you didn’t seem very interested in hearing me out on things anyway at the time… I just didn’t want to add ‘Subaru is going insane’ to your list of issues to deal with.”

Her face relaxed momentarily before hardening again, her words becoming increasingly strained as she spoke.

“Then how about today? Why did you go- no, why did you leave me alone here? Do you know what its like to wake up and…” She trailed off, closing her eyes and visibly forcing herself to calm down. After a moment spent collecting her thoughts, she regarded him once more with a steady gaze. “Do you not trust me? Was all you said earlier just… lies? Do you not give any importance to promises?”

Subaru face went from astonishment, to understanding, and then, finally, to embarrassment.

Ram’s visible eye narrowed ever more dangerously.

“This is not the time for jokes, Subaru.”

“No, that’s not… it’s just, well, when the spirit came today I decided to follow him, because at this point we don’t have a lot of options left and I figured it wouldn’t put us any worse off than we already are, and on the off chance it works out we might buy ourselves some time, right? I was about to wake you up but... well, uh, I saw you sleeping… there, and…”

He trailed off, his face burning crimson. Ram was unamused.

“What. Spit it out already, we don’t have time to waste with your antics.”

Subaru put a hand behind his head and started to scratch it.

“I, uh, it’s just that…” he closed his eye, angled his head down, and let the rest of the words tumble out of his mouth as quickly as he could manage. “YoujustlookedsocuterestingandIcouldn’tbringmyselftodisturbyouwhenyouwerecurledupbeingalladorable!”

He steadied himself against the wall, somewhat out of breath. Simultaneously terrified and curious of her reaction, he stole a glance at her- too embarrassed to face her fully but unable to resist the temptation of observing her. For a moment, she just stood there, stock still, looking at him, or, perhaps, through him- her alarmingly neutral expression seemingly etched into her features as though she was a statue. This didn’t last, however, and said neutral expression slackened and, first slowly, but then, accompanied by a sharp intake of breath, all at once, fell into something akin to panic. Her cheeks flushed the shade of her hair and her eyes flared wide, almost luminescent in the dim light, boring into him as she met his sidelong gaze. She blinked, once, twice, and then snapped her head to the side, presumably so that he couldn’t see her expression clearly, even though it was far too late to prevent that. She stood like this for several seconds, shoulders tense, an aura of something not unlike killing intent coalescing around her.

‘Oh shi-’

He started to shift away, but, almost as if in response, the tension instantly evaporated from her posture, displaced by… he didn’t know. This situation on the whole was the longest period of time he had ever been in close proximity to a woman, or, frankly, anyone except his parents. He simply did not have the experience necessary to interpret whatever the hell her body language was broadcasting. She cleared her throat before responding, bringing her hand to the bridge of her nose in a poor attempt at appearing frustrated rather than flustered.

“F-flattery won’t get you anywhere, S-Subaru,” she said, stuttering.

‘No way.’

“But, it isn’t flattery if I am telling the-”

Ram interrupted him crisply, her tone clipped.

“So. Where did the spirit lead you?”

‘Holy shit-’

“Wait, but-”

“So. Where. Did. The. Spirit. Lead. You.”

‘-she’s unironically a tsundere!?’

He almost made the mistake of laughing, but seriously did not want to die after making it this far. Maybe if he was the main character of a romantic comedy, he could take a few drop kicks to his skull, but as it was, he wasn’t sure how he was even still alive and functioning in the first place… he sighed, and decided to leave it for another time. Instead he sat down, gesturing for her to sit next to him, and began relating what the spirit had asked of him in detail the previous ‘nights’, before then informing her both of the door and what he could remember of the spirit’s strange phrases. He let her sit and process this in silence, expecting her thoughtful expression to result in commands. Instead, however-

“I... see. What do you think we should do, Subaru?”

“Wait, what?”

“Don’t make me change my mind.”

“Okay, okay, sure, ehh… lets first start by taking stock of our condition- how do you feel? Did resting help any?”

“No, it's... not about sleep. I am low on mana, and, for reasons I don’t have time to explain now, I cant replenish mana on my own. I… need Roswaal-sama for that.”

She emphasized her bitter, preemptive denial of further explanation through gritted teeth. Subaru decided it would, indeed, be best to leave it alone.

“So what you are saying is that it will only get worse.”

Ram nodded, before asking her own question.

“How about you?”

He shifted uncomfortably.

“And don’t lie to me,” she added, seemingly extrapolating what his discomfort would lead him to do. Was he really that predictable?

He sighed.

“I… I’m not… it’s not that bad, since everything is a bit numb?”

“Typically, losing sensation after sustaining injuries is, in fact, very bad,” she deadpanned at him. He looked away.

“Well, at the very least I probably need to clean my eye if I don’t want to die from infection. I can mostly walk, clearly, but…”

He trailed off again, adjusting his position on the ground. Ram finished his thought for him.

“In short, we are in no condition to fight, any frontal confrontation would only lead to our doom, yet we are also in no condition to flee should that be necessary.”

They sat in silence for a few moments, before he tried to offer an alternative course of action.

“Well, if we don’t want to go back to the sketchy spirit, what about escaping through the hole we crawled through yesterday. We could try to sneak to the opening to the surface we found, and I haven’t heard the Rat for a while. It can’t see us, so if we kept quiet-”

“I doubt that would work.”

“Why?”

Ram crouched down unsteadily and picked up a stone from the ground.

“Ram… what are you doing?”

“Watch.”

She turned around and threw the stone through the crawlspace they had fled through the previous day that, miraculously, had yet to fully collapse. His mouth opened slightly in awe of her pitching form and accuracy.

Suddenly, he was knocked out of his slack-jawed admiration when the stone impacted something hard on the far side of the debris pile blocking the tunnel. This was quickly followed by a reverberating screech and the sound of bone grinding against stone- the Rat promptly charging and attacking wherever the stone had struck. He shuddered, and made a note to lower his voice even further then he already had.

“Wow. I guess that option’s dead, then.”

“Yes.”

Ram and Subaru exchanged a look, before she reached out her hand to help him to his feet.

Ram and Subaru, leaning on each other to keep upright, stood in front of the massive set of double doors. Ram had wanted to take stock of the area, and especially wanted to take a closer look at the widespread crystalline structures embedded in the tunnel wall across from the door. However, given the previous night’s twin reveal that there were highly explosive, unrefined mana stones embedded within the walls and floor, and that said stones were impact sensitive enough to be set off with a solid kick, he wanted to give anything vaguely resembling crystal a wide berth whenever possible. Ram, albeit reluctantly, had agreed and instead followed him into the vestibule where they now stood.

“I don’t see a spirit but… you weren’t lying. This is certainly a door,” Ram stated with no small amount of hesitation.

Subaru immediately picked up on the meaning behind the delay.

“What? You didn’t believe me? Really?! There is no way I could have made this shit up, you know!”

“Did you try anything on it?” Ram ignored his indignation.

“No, I went back to get you as soon as I got over being flash-banged and witnessing the door to Moria appearing in front of me.”

“What.”

“… look, I didn’t touch it or anything,” he let go of Ram to observe the door from other angles now that it was illuminated by his phone, falling deep into thought. “The spirit said it’s the door to the ‘atlas’, or something. Again, I was getting over being blinded, so I wasn’t really paying attention, but he said something about a trial too…”

Unimpressed with his otherworldly references or his justifications for not listening closely to clearly important information, Ram advanced to the door and began attempting to push it open on one side.

“What are you waiting for, idiot? Come help me.”

Subaru, jolted out of his thoughts, promptly went to try and push the door open alongside her.

“Okay, count down from three?”

“...Sure, Subaru.”

They steadied themselves against the surprisingly smooth stone floor of the vestibule, and counted down together.

“Three, two, one-” “-push!”

They both threw themselves into the door using all the strength they had, though confusion on the exact count to begin offset their initial efforts by half a second. Still, after a few moments of struggle, their efforts were rewarded with-

Nothing.

They stopped, stood back, and looked at each other- Ram’s expression aggressively neutral. Unsure of how to respond, Subaru opened his mouth and let it do the thinking for him.

“Uh. Seems like the door won't budge. I think it's locked.”

Ram’s flat expression somehow became even flatter.

“Surely the Great Sage himself would be impressed with your insights.”

“Um.”

“Can’t even inform the flower at your side of when to actually begin pushing, let alone apply any substantial force. Pathetic. And to think you call yourself a man.”

“Hey hey! Don’t say it like that, I am sure you weren’t pushing that hard yourself! And I’m pretty sure most people start pushing when you say push, after you finish counting down! That’s, like, what everyone does! Or has the cultural barrier finally done me in?”

“Are you saying that I, a frail yet undeniably cute young maiden, should not only push on her lonesome, but take on the responsibility of educating you in such simple matters? If you say to count down from three, you count down from three and push at the final count, which would be one in this case, clearly. As such-”

“Ahhh! Stop-stop! Time out!” He turned to face her directly, starting to cross his arm in front of his chest before realizing he lacked enough functional arms to form an ‘X’. His jesting expression faltered, and Ram quieted her return quip.

“Er,” he chuckled awkwardly before attempting to push away the reality of his condition. “Stop that, I know what you are doing- you have done it enough times, trying to make me look bad… If anyone is too frail to be pushing open doors, it is definitely me. And what does you being cute have anything to do with anything?!”

By the time he finished speaking, Ram had picked up on his silent plea to maintain normalcy.

“I know not of what you are talking about, I am only stating truths,” said Ram, smugness dripping from both her expression and intonation, almost desperately so. In turn, Subaru’s strained grin became just slightly more genuine.

They both turned their attention back to the door.

“I mean… it’s a door, right?”

He turned to face Ram once more, only to see an expression simultaneously emotionless yet clearly indicative of her desire to beat his head in with a rock. She turned away from him and directed her attention to something that caught her eye at the foot of the entryway.

“S-sorry, I just mean that there is definitely a way to open it, otherwise it would just be a wall...”

“...”

“T-the spirit clearly said it was some kind of trial. So there are probably hints on the door.”

“...Flawless logic, Subaru. I am glad your head injury hasn’t prevented you from-”

He heard her voice hitch as she paused. Her expression was hidden, as she was crouched down inspecting the floor.

“… Nevermind that. Just… help me look for… something. Please.”

Her speech was stilted, strained, and her ‘please’ was uncharacteristically quiet.

‘Is she… trying to be nice?’

He took some of the practically unusable portions of chalk that had degraded into little more than a powder, and began dusting portions of the door with it- hoping to highlight any substantial features in the metal.

“Ram, you don’t have to pretend, or anything. I get that you are mostly joking, and most of my comments are pretty dumb, you know? It’s not like I don’t deserve-”

“You don’t deserve such abuse,” Ram cut him off sharply, her words hurried, before she continued more quietly, though just as quickly. “Not only would it be callous to insult you via the injury Ram herself caused, you were merely speaking to ease your nerves. Disregarding the wisdom of such a coping mechanism, I… Ram has no…”

He heard her huff with agitation, and decided to step in to relieve her of the responsibility.

“Look, it’s no big deal Ram- you are taking this way too seriously.”

“And you are not taking it seriously enough!” The force of her words caught Subaru off guard, and he turned his attention away from the door to his companion, who was, for whatever reason, still inspecting the door. In the dim light, he could see her shaking slightly, before she tensed and shook her head. “We will discuss this later. Whatever has reduced you to such a state can wait to be addressed when I am not about to keel over and die.”

‘What is she on about?’

Whatever context he had missed was clearly important. Despite his confusion, he gave his blind agreement.

“O-okay?”

It was then that something occurred to him.

“Hey, Ram, how is it that I haven’t, you know, actually keeled over and died yet?” He looked down at his tortured body, taking in his shattered arm, his splinted, twisted leg, and the innumerable poorly bandaged abrasions and wounds covering him nearly from head to toe. He felt like he was halfway to becoming a mummy. “I don’t think I’d be alive, let alone conscious and moving around like this, if I was back home…”

She glanced up at him, before moving to inspect another portion of the door.

“You are likely using mana reinforcement to mitigate your injuries, subconsciously, if you have to ask me that question. I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to do that wherever your ‘homeland to the east’ is, though, nor do I know how you kept that up even after casting your spell yesterday.”

“Mana reinforcement?”

She looked up at him again, this time a moment longer, before sighing. “How is it that you don’t know of such things? Save your questions on the subject for Beatrice-sama. I fear that if I try and teach you something, you will inadvertently destabilize your condition.”

“Right…”

“In any case, I want you to take a look at this,” she gestured towards the section of the door she was inspecting. “There are markings here- likely some form of text, but it is completely unintelligible.”

Subaru, who was at this point checking the other side of the door, limped over and slowly lowered himself down to inspect what Ram had pointed out.

“Let’s see...”

‘What.’

“No way…”

“Well, don’t hold me in suspense if you know what it is.”

“This… looks like Greek, I think? We didn’t cover much of this in school, but I think this one here is ‘alpha’. It definitely isn’t a full sentence though, since there are only a few letters here.”

‘Why here of all places? There is no way that’s a coincidence, someone else must have been transported here like me. The odds of this just happening to be in the mines I just happened to fall into though...’

A tinge of fear crept up the back of his neck, but he found himself distracted by Ram, who, after a moment of stunned silence, spoke up- her tone even and matter-of-fact.
“So you really do know how to read.”

A smile began to appear on Subaru face.

‘Finally, I am going to show her my worth.’

That smile quickly faded, however, as he subsequently realized the full implications of her words.

“Hey! You didn’t believe that either?! What else- ugh. You know what, I am just going to ignore that.” He cleared his throat loudly before continuing. “These are characters from the Greek alphabet- it’s been around for thousands of years, and I’m pretty sure they still use it today. Not that I have ever been to Greece, or anything. Outside of that, people use Greek letters as symbols when doing math or when naming things, like stars...”

‘Wait, he said atlas... then...’

“Ram, let’s continue inspecting the door. There are definitely more of these symbols here.”

After a few minutes, they had discovered various Greek symbols engraved all around the door.

“I think that I understand what this is about, but first I need to see the door as a whole,” Subaru spoke, somewhat sluggishly after exerting himself for so long. “My phone isn’t going to be bright enough unless I-”

Abruptly, the phone shut off, much to Subaru’s consternation and surprise, leaving the pair in near total darkness. Only the faint light of the lagmite chalk allowed them to make out each other’s vague forms. He grasped the phone from Ram’s shocked hands, and tried to turn it back on, but the device remained inert.

“Well, shit,” Subaru sighed, stowed it in his pocket, and leaned into the door and taking a moment to mourn the loss of his phone’s functionality. The screen had indicated that it still had around ten percent of the battery remaining, so he was unsure as to why it had shut off right then and refused to turn back on. He considered the possibility that it had gotten too cold for the battery, but he had used the phone plenty in the winter back home, and it didn’t feel like it was quite that cold. Then again, he was at this point well past the point of numbness, was having trouble moving his fingers, and was constantly fighting to keep his teeth from chattering as he shivered, so perhaps his perception of temperature couldn’t be trusted.

“I’m sorry, Subaru,” Ram spoke softly, seeming to at least partially grasp the emotional toll the loss entailed, beyond just losing the ability to see.

“...It’s… fine. It might have just gotten too cold. Maybe… maybe if it warms up I’ll be able to turn it on again. In the meantime, do you have any ideas?”

“I think that I know what to do, but I am afraid you will not like it.”

“I don’t think we have the choice.”

“Then bring your shovel here.”

Subaru reluctantly unstrapped Shovel-san from his back, and handed it to Ram.

“Shovel-san is unique- there is no other like him in the world. There definitely isn’t a second one to use as a spare, so be careful.”

“Don’t worry. You will have two of them very soon,” Ram responded, dryly.

“What-”

Subaru watched on in horror while, in a sudden burst of speed and strength, Ram tightened her hand around Shovel-san’s haft, shifted a few paces back to the dull looking crystal that was growing from the far wall, and, with as much force as she could muster, elevated Shovel-san above her head and smashed it into the rock with a mighty crack. The room lit up with an azure flash, allowing Subaru to bare witness to the full glory of his chosen weapon colliding with its toughest opponent yet. Time seemed to freeze as the blade met and ground into the crystal, and he thought that perhaps everything would be fine, that maybe Shovel-san could pull through.

This was not to be.

In an instant, the entire weapon catastrophically failed- the haft practically detonating in Ram’s grasp, and the blade shearing clean in half against the crystal, sending small shards of steel, glittering beautifully in the brilliant silver-blue light, flying. One half of the blade arced casually through the air in Subaru’s direction and embedded itself in the ground next to him with a clank, and the other clattered to the ground at Ram’s feet, still attached to a fragment of wood.

For a moment, Subaru was completely stunned, and the only noise he could hear was the echo of his trusty partner in crime shattering into innumerable fragments of wood and metal.

“Shovellll-saaaannnnnnnn!!!!! Whhhyyyy!!”

Subaru fell to his knees, picking up a piece of what remained of his friend. Even as the light illuminating the tunnel diminished into gloomy darkness, he could make out the network of fractures that covered the fragment of metal like a spiderweb. Baring Subaru reforging the blade entirely, the remaining metal was good for little more than scrap. He aimed a venomous glare towards Ram.

“Murderer.”

“Calm down. You have two of them now, and look: part of the quartz got separated.”

“All of that for a stupid rock!? What do you want to do with it!? No rock is worth Shovel-san, you completely destroyed him! What am I supposed to do with two chunks of cracked metal?! I don’t even think this would work as a knife!”

“It's not just any rock. Like I said, it's quartz. Watch.”

Ram began to scrape the crystal against the remaining chunk embedded in the walls, as well as several other pieces that had been broken off the wall with Shovel-san’s sacrifice, and, little by little, blue light started to fill the tunnel. While less intense than when the crystal had been struck, he was reminded of the light emitted by the hottest of stars- that white-hot, silvery blue.

‘Wait... I think I heard about something like this. Triboluminescence? I thought that was more of a momentary flash kind of light, though… not something that would work as a legitimate light source like this. Goddamn magic rocks…’

“Stop ogling me, and look at the door.”

Subaru shook his head clear, and turned his attention back to the door, now lit steadily by the crystals behind him.

‘I knew it.’

“Ram.”

“Yes?”

“My name is Subaru.”

There was a pause.

“Do you want me to kill you?”

“Wait, wait! I will explain better!”

“You better. That level of inanity is pushing Ram’s limits.”

“You see, my parents named me after the star cluster known as the seven sisters, also known as the Pleiades-”

“What?” Ram interrupted, her intense attention snapping from the door to him in an instant. “As in the sage’s watchtower? That’s rather presumptuous of them.”

“Uh… sorry, what watchtower?”

Her expression went blank.

“The Pleiades Watchtower.”

“…I’ve never heard of that in my life.”

Her eyes narrowed.

“It overlooks the Witch’s seal. The Sage lives there, and destroys anyone who approaches. Not even the Sword Saint was able to approach, some years ago, when the royal knights sought the Sage’s assistance with the disease that was killing the royal family.”

The hairs on the back of his neck raised.

‘No way that name is a coincidence… that can’t be good.’

“Doesn’t ring any bells… sorry.”

Ram looked disturbed, but gestured for him to continue anyway.

“Right. My homeland refers to that same star cluster by a different name than most places, though, instead calling it Subaru. After my parents told me this a few years ago, I got curious and started researching stars.”

“And?”

“To put it short, Atlas, the name the spirit gave me, is one of the stars of the Pleiadies, though it is not one of the seven sisters, which are brighter. Atlas, mythologically, is the father of the seven sisters: Electra, Maia, Merope, Taygeta, Sterope, Celaeno, and Alcyone.”

“So? How is that relevant to the glyphs on the door?”

“Well, if you connect the dots like this-”

Subaru took some of the chalk and started to link seven of the now visible white colored indentations on the door- each indentation labeled by one of the greek letters. He glanced back, only to see Ram lost in thought, and looking somewhat confused.

“-you get this shape. You typically wouldn’t treat a star cluster like a constellation, but I spent a lot of time trying to make something out of the positions of the stars. Point being, I recognize this shape as the same as what you would get if you linked up the Pleiades from eldest to youngest daughter. Can you reach zeta?”

“What?”

“Oh, sorry, the one that looks like half circle. Not sure why they used letters when they could have used numerals, but whatever.”

She moved forward, reaching above her head.

“This one?”

“Yeah, that one is Pleione, the mother of the seven sisters. Press it when I tell you.”

Subaru walked to the other side of the door.

“And this one here is Atlas, the father as I mentioned. Lets see if I’m right. I’ll count down from three, and then I’ll say press, and that’s when we’ll press. Okay?”

“Sure.”

They counted down, and this time without confusion, pressed the associated indentations simultaneously. Instantly, the door began to glow.

“Cover your eyes! You won't get me this time!”

He slammed his eye shut as he called out to Ram, hoping that she complied in time. Even through his eyelid, the brilliant flash of light emitted as the doors ground open left an afterimage that would take a moment to fade. Pyxis’s voice echoed loudly around them, and he heard Ram’s startled gasp in response.

“Congratulations, Sage Candidate. You completed the first trial. I welcome you and your companion to the Atlas.”